Rockville Clinics and Events

REI Market Grants for D.C. Metro Area

2009

REI Market Grants for D.C. Metro Area
2009

Each year, the REI co-op dedicates a portion of its operating profits to help protect and restore the environment, increase access to outdoor activities, and encourage involvement in responsible outdoor recreation. REI is actively involved with local stewardship projects, workshops and education initiatives, and continues to support and partner with parks, conservation groups and outdoor recreation programs.

The following partners received grants for their programs in conservation and outdoor recreation.

Alice Ferguson Foundation: Environmental Education on the Potomac

The Alice Ferguson Foundation (AFF) is a 501(c) 3, not-for-profit public charity that provides "hands-on, feet-wet" exciting adventures in wetlands, forests, meadows and river shores at the Hard Bargain Farm Environmental Center (HBF). The mission of AFF is "to provide experiences that encourage connections between people, the natural environment, farming and the cultural heritage of the Potomac River Watershed leading to personal environmental responsibility." REI's grant to the foundation will support their core programming - one-day field studies for elementary and middle school students benefitting 750 students, 30 teachers and 90 volunteer chaperones. $10,000


American Canoe Association: Volunteer Marine Debris Removal

The American Canoe Association (ACA) was established in 1880 and is the nation?s oldest and largest nonprofit organization dedicated to paddlesports. With approximately 50,000 members and over 150 Paddle America Clubs (PAC) nationwide, the ACA is well-positioned to establish a coordinated marine debris removal program and long-term marine debris sentinel station inventory to allow marine debris status and trends analysis.

This project addresses the three main goals by 1) reducing threats to coastal resources and human health through planning and prevention, 2) protecting coastal resources and human health by recommending and implementing appropriate response actions, and 3) restoring injured trust resources. This project will also address the stewardship of marshes, seagrass beds, and other coastal habitats, and resources associated with National Estuarine Research Reserves. In addition, the project will address the growing problem of marine debris and develop a conservation corps type activity that will provide employment, education, and training in the Chesapeake Bay and the Mid-Atlantic region.

Local ACA Paddle America Clubs (PAC) and college outdoor/paddling clubs will use canoes and kayaks to access the sensitive shallow water estuarine areas for debris identification and removal. Participants will also track and catalog the extent of marine debris in long-term established sites following similar successful programs such as the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, NOAA Phytoplankton Monitoring Network, and NOAA Mussel Watch Program. $7,000


Appalachian Trail Conservancy:
Trail Ridgerunners

Founded in 1925, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy is the volunteer-focused, private nonprofit organization dedicated to preservation, management, and promotion of the Appalachian Trail as a primitive setting for outdoor recreation (on foot) and education. To ensure the pristine and primitive backcountry experience visitors expect, The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) seeks support for its seasonal Ridgerunner staff. Monitoring 40 to 100 Trail miles apiece, 35 "mobile caretakers" camp out along the Trail, conducting environmental education to ensure that day hikers, backpackers, and Trail neighbors will have a positive experience along the Appalachian Trail's most heavily traversed sections. Ridgerunners also help protect the Trail's 280,000-acre land base, acting as "ears to the ground" for ATC, local trail clubs, and public land management units traversed by the Trail. REI will provide both financial support and gear for this program. $23,000


Audubon Naturalist Society: NATURE ROCKS

The Audubon Naturalist Society of the Central Atlantic States will continue and expand upon their successful Nature Rocks program for elementary school children in Leesburg, VA. Launched in 2008 with funding from REI and the Northern Virginia Community Foundation, Nature Rocks is a partnership initiative with Leesburg R.O.C.K. (Recreation Outreach to Community Kids) and the REI store in Fairfax. Incorporating the PEAK, the program emphasizes the importance of conservation stewardship and provides participating children with the knowledge and skills needed to enjoy the outdoors and to appreciate the natural world.

Based on the extremely enthusiastic response to the pilot program, Audubon will continue offering, improving and growing Nature Rocks during the 2009 - 2010 academic year. To this end, they will double the number of program sessions, undertake an environmental stewardship project with participating children, and increase outreach to communities of color. $7,000


Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts (MORE): The Fountainhead Project

MORE (The Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts), Inc. is a non-profit representing thousands of area mountain bikers. Founded in 1992, MORE maintains more than 250 miles of natural surface trails in 25 state and county parks in the region. MORE members contribute more than 3,000 volunteer hours annually and have constructed nearly 100 miles of new, sustainable trail. The club also leads hundreds of rides and various skills clinics each year at local parks, ranging from beginner to advanced levels. IMBA, (International Mountain Biking Association) and MORE are partners that work with local land managers and community groups to ensure that sustainable trails are designed and constructed to support multiple user groups in the DC area.

With REI's support, MORE is implementing the first phase of the Fountainhead Trail Enhancement Plan, bringing together volunteers and professional trailbuilders to begin the enhancement and rehabilitation of the current popular mountain bike trail system. The two projects in this phase will consist of rerouting a degraded trail section and replacing it with a sustainable, fun, and challenging reroute, as well as adding a mile of new trail. The Phase One project will also be the first stage in implementing a stacked loop trail system that will provide superior trails for new riders to the sport as well as seasoned mountain bikers. This project is vital to leveraging support and funding to complete the entire Trail Enhancement Project. $7,000


Potomac Appalachian Trail Club: Spruce Pine Hollow Shelter

The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) is a volunteer-based, nonprofit organization with 6,000 members, headquartered in Vienna, Virginia. The men and women who planned and built the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT) founded the PATC in 1927. The club now manages over 1,100 miles of hiking trails, including the 250-mile long Tuscarora Trail, in the Mid-Atlantic region. PATC volunteers contributed 38,064 hours of volunteer trail maintenance on public lands in 2008. They also maintain cabins and shelters along the Appalachian Trail and in Shenandoah National Park, teach Leave No Trace and Backpacking techniques to hikers and youth groups, publish maps and guidebooks, and mark conservation boundaries.

PATC is sponsoring the development of the Great Eastern Trail, a long distance wilderness footpath, which will extend from the Alabama/Florida border and travel north to New York State. In Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and southern Pennsylvania, PATC's portion of the Great Eastern Trail will utilize the Tuscarora Trail. One of the goals is to have a shelter available for backpackers every eight to twelve miles. REI?s support will go toward the construction of a new shelter for hiker and backpacker use on the Tuscarora Trail near Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. $7,500


Friends of Rock Creek's Environment:
Trash Clean-Up Outreach

The Rock Creek watershed encompasses an 82-square-mile area in densely populated Washington, DC, and Montgomery County, MD. DC's Rock Creek Park, among the first national parks, is one of the largest forested urban parks in the nation. Montgomery County stream valley parks also border much of the 33-mile Rock Creek and its tributaries. These parks offer a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities, including hiking, biking, running, horseback riding, boating, fishing, bird watching, nature study, playgrounds, and picnicking.

Friends of Rock Creek's Environment (FORCE) was founded in 2005 to help address Rock Creek's environmental problems. The watershed faces many threats, including erosion, combined sewer overflows, nonpoint source pollution, trash, an influx of invasive plant species, and degradation of fish and wildlife habitat. Because the watershed crosses District, county, and state boundaries, problems must be addressed across jurisdictional lines.

FORCE partners with a variety of government agencies, community groups, and businesses to protect, restore, and enhance the watershed. FORCE is working to strengthen its outreach effort to expand the number and coverage of trash clean-ups in parks in the Rock Creek watershed. FORCE has promoted and organized spring trash clean-ups for the past four years. In 2008, there were clean-ups at 16 locations along Rock Creek and its tributaries. With a previous grant from REI, FORCE conducted an extensive outreach program, and the number of clean-ups increased from 16 to over 50. More than 1,600 volunteers came out and collected 23 tons of trash in the parks along Rock Creek. With this grant, they will expand their outreach for a comprehensive watershed-wide, community-based trash clean-up. $5,000


Trips for Kids Metro DC: Nature Bicycle Program

Trips for Kids Metro DC's (TFK) mission is to mentor youth and provide opportunities to experience nature. They mentor youth participants on the need for physical activity, wise nutritional choices and environmental education and awareness. In 2008, they offered more than 2,600 mentoring opportunities serving more than 800 children.

TFK uses bicycles and the backdrop of nature as tools to teach important life lessons through our varied youth programs while combating daily stressors. Through these opportunities their participants experience nature via the seat of a bicycle, interactive in-school assemblies/events and overnight camping events. They provide the opportunity to experience the joys of just being a child in nature. As the youth overcome obstacles on the trails they achieve a heightened awareness of their strengths and boost in self-esteem. Their programs are simple but effective -- provide positive reinforcement, safe exercise, healthy nutrition and fun in the outdoors. REI's support will allow them to continue offering quality programming and provide 3 new bikes for their participants to use. $7,000 (Cash & Gear)


For further information on REI's giving programs, please visit
www.rei.com/stewardship

• Cost: Free

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