NY Party, Earth Day, EcoDaredevil, and Other Updates!
Dear YERTians,
There are all sorts of things brewing here at YERT, thus the gap in videos-- but there is no gap in news! So we must update you...
- THIS SUNDAY: YERT Party in Brooklyn, NY
- EcoDaredevil Award
- New YERT.com Website
- YERT Earth Day. YERT HDAY? YEaRTh Day?
THIS SUNDAY: YERT Party in Brooklyn, NY
It is true! We'll be gathering with good friends at 3pm on Sunday, 4/20/08, at 224 Degraw Street, Apt. 1 (garden apartment), Brooklyn, NY. You can check out the eVite here or the Facebook event here. Please RSVP because we'll be preparing food and we want to make just the right delicious amount! See you there!
EcoDaredevil Award
We recently connected with awesome oceanographer Dr. Wallace J. Nichols and found out that he's putting together a cool new environmental award called the EcoDaredevil award. He'll be co-presenting it with Evil Knievil's granddaughter, Krysten Knievel, at Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment on Earth Day (April 22!). One brave Duke student, living on the dramatic edge of environmental activisim, will receive the award. We hope that this snazzy prize will spawn the creation of countless new YERTful innovators around the country, and we can't wait to learn about them. YERT is a sponsor of the award and we've included additional information about it at the bottom of this e-mail. Take a look!
New YERT.com Website
We're in the final steps of launching a new YERT website, with maps and schedules and shopping and blogs and more YERTy information than you could ever want to know, all in one place. The new site can grow better than the old one, so we hope to share more gradual improvements with you as this project expands. You'll see it show up sometime during the next week or two, and we hope that you'll be gentle with us as you try it on for size.
YERT Earth Day. YERT HDAY? YEaRTh Day?
Earth Day is coming up on April 22 and we recently realized that YERT videos could make for a great way to celebrate this aweseome planet of ours. Dr. Nichols will be sharing YERT videos with his audience at the Nicholas School (see the press release below), and our shorts will be making EarthDay appearances all over the country for a few lucky viewers. If you'd like to show some YERT videos for some friends (or even larger audiences) but want to do it with high-quality video, send a note our way-- we have all the videos available online in 720x405 resolution (16x9). We'll let you know where you can find them. In other Earth Day news, Voice of America will be airing web, radio, and TV stories about YERT as a part of their Earth Day line-up. Some portion of their 100 million viewers/listeners around the world will get the scoop on YERT, and we can't wait to meet them. Our partnership with Care2 is also kicking into gear leading up to Earth Day, and they'll be showing some YERT ads on their website to spread the word. You can check out our Care2 group here.
We recently shot our 350th hour of footage, and we're not done yet! In fact, we have nearly 3 months to go before we reach all 50 states. We're still planning to release more videos throughout the last few months, but once the trip is done we'll work intensively to release videos for all the remaining states. After we catch up on all of the state-by-state video we'll embark upon the creation of the YERT film! Stay tuned for more details about that, including ample opportunities to get involved.
Happy YEaRTh Day,
Julie, Ben, and Mark
http://www.yert.com
EcoDaredevil Award!
FOR RELEASE ON: April 15, 2008
Event: First Annual EcoDaredevil Award
Date: Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
Contacts: Kelly Ricaurte, t: 202.351.0482, m:
415.806.3052, kricaurte@oceanconservancy.org AND Wallace J.
Nichols, Ph.D, m: 831.426.0337, wallacejnichols@mac.com
More information: ecodaredevil@mac.com www.ecodaredevil.com
INAUGURAL ECODAREDEVIL AWARD TO BE PRESENTED ON EARTH DAY DURING
RENOWNED OCEANOGRAPHERS KEYNOTE ADDRESS
DURHAM, N.C. Widely-acclaimed oceanographer and Ocean Conservancy
senior scientist, Wallace J. Nichols, Ph.D, will announce the winner
of the first annual EcoDaredevil Awards in conjunction with his
keynote address at the Duke University, Nicholas School of the
Environment, on Earth Day, April 22, 2008. [6pm at the Bryan Center,
Duke University, Durham, NC] The award, inspired by the spirit of
legendary motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, will recognize young
people from across the nation who, through science, policy or personal
action, have taken a particular risk and shown exceptional courage and
creativity to challenge the status quo and successfully solve or raise
public awareness for an environmental issue.
Also on hand at the inaugural event will be Knievels granddaughter,
Krysten Knievel of Chicago. Miss Knievel is the youngest daughter of
current daredevil Robbie Knievel. Miss Knievel is making the trip to
co-present the award with Nichols following his address.
I think this is a very distinctive and important honor, Knievel said
of the award, inspired by her grandfather. Having lived his life in
Montana and the way he dedicated his own life to taking risks and
thinking outside the box, I know my grandpa would be proud to know he
inspired such a unique award to honor those characteristics in others.
This year marks the inaugural award, which will be given to a member
of the Duke student community. In the future, multiple EcoDaredevils
will be honored nationwide. The award, currently sponsored by Ocean
Conservancy, Ocean Revolution, Tree Media, Clark Fork Watershed
Education Program and YERT.com is chosen by a committee of individuals
that include members of various national and regional conservation
organizations, students and the scientific community at large. Future
awards will include a call for nominations and be presented at a
different Earth Day event each year. For information visit www.ecodaredevil.com
In preface to the awards ceremony, Nichols will present an Earth Day
keynote address to the Duke University, Nicholas School of the
Environment, titled, Jump the Chasm: Are you an EcoDaredevil? A
boyhood reveler of Knievel, Nichols will speak to the need for our
young scientists and policy makers to think and act daringly in order
for our civilization to jump the chasm of environmental challenges
in the 21st century and beyond.
Wallace J. Nichols, Ph.D. is a scientist, ocean activist, author and a
dad. Hes senior scientist at Ocean Conservancy and a research
associate at the California Academy of Sciences. He works with many
non-profit organizations, youth, fishermen and researchers worldwide
to build an Ocean Revolution. For more information visit www.oceanconservancy.org
and www.wallacejnichols.org.
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