Conservation Alliance “Backyard Collective” Draws Over 200 Volunteers

August 10, 2017

PORTLAND, Oregon (August 10, 2017) — More than 200 volunteers from seven member companies attended The Conservation Alliance’s 10th anniversary of its Backyard Collective in Portland, Oregon.

The volunteers worked alongside Portland’s Forest Park Conservancy, SOLVE, Portland Parks Foundation and Hoyt Arboretum to clean up parks, and maintain and build trails as well as remove invasive species.

“It was great to see over 200 individuals from the outdoor industry bear the 90+ degree temperatures and attend the Portland Backyard Collective,” said Joe Craig, vice president of U.S. Apparel Sales at Columbia Sportswear and member of The Conservation Alliance board of directors. “It was especially pleasing to see people line up to fill out postcards to Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke in support of public lands.”

Conservation Alliance member companies Columbia Sportswear, Keen Footwear, Nau Clothing, REI, Notogroup, Yakima and Merrell participated in the event.

The mission of The Conservation Alliance is to engage businesses to fund and partner with organizations to protect wild places for their habitat and recreation values. The Alliance launched the Backyard Collective Program to connect member company employees in the outdoor industry with the work of organizations that receive funding from the group.

Conservation Alliance grantees joined in a Grantee Fair to share current information and call-to-action about their programs. Grantees included Oregon Wild, WaterWatch of Oregon, Western Rivers Conservancy, and Wild Salmon Center.

“We’re very excited to have celebrated our 10th year of our Backyard Collective program in Portland,” said John Sterling, executive director of The Conservation Alliance. “Over the past decade, our members have pulled together for some impressive stewardship work on the local level. Conservation starts at home, and these events represent a strong commitment to preserving these companies’ backyard.”

The Backyard Collective moves that action to their local community, and gives these employees a venue to get their hands dirty for the sake of conservation.

For more information about this event, please contact Abby Becker, Backyard Collective Outreach Coordinator at abby@conservationalliance.com or 724.840.2111.

Group photo courtesy of Isaac Lane Koval.

About The Conservation Alliance
The Conservation Alliance is an organization of like-minded businesses whose collective contributions support grassroots environmental organizations and their efforts to protect wild places where outdoor enthusiasts recreate. Alliance funds have played a key role in protecting rivers, trails, wildlands and climbing areas. Membership in the Alliance is open to all companies who care about protecting our most threatened wild places for habitat and outdoor recreation.  Since its inception in 1989, The Conservation Alliance has contributed more than $18 million, awarded 552 grants, helped to protect more than 50 million acres of wildlands; protect 2,991 miles of rivers; stop or remove 29 dams; designate five marine reserves; and purchase 12 climbing areas. For complete information on The Conservation Alliance, see: www.conservationalliance.com.