nonprofits

Tgif Video Conservation International

May 08, 2009 · By Sloane Davidson, Founder and CEO, Hello Neighbor

In looking for a video for this Friday's "TGIF Video" I wanted to find one visually stunning. I turned to a resource I often look for in finding new websites, companies, people who are at the forefront of making change and pushing the envelope: The Webby Awards.

The Webby Awards honors excellence on the Internet and is part of The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The awards take place during Internet Week in NYC, June 1-8, 2009. I've always had a conflict precluding me from attending and this year is no different. One day.

Conservation International's PROTECT AN ACRE campaign is the winner in this year's Activism category. Their mission is:

Conservation International (CI) is an organization based out of Washington DC that is committed to creating a global movement that will help protect and sustain Earth's plant and animal diversity. One of the many tasks they have set themselves is the problem of climate change. Unknown to many is that deforestation, and more specifically, the willful destruction of tropical forest areas for farming and other purposes, contributes up to 20% of the world's carbon emissions.

Atmosphere BBDO was tasked to provide the interactive component of a campaign that would inform the public about deforestation's link to climate change, and provide them with a way to help. A micro site was developed where people could protect a piece of forest by purchasing one or more acres from a communal forest area shared by all. Their name would then be attached to their acre for all to see. The rest of the site was dedicated to the education of climate change with respect to deforestation, notably in the form of a video introduction by Harrison Ford, the campaign's spokesperson, and founding member of CI. To date many thousands of acres have been protected by people from all over the world.

Did you know every 4 hours a forest the size of Manhattan disappears? How could you not want to get involved in something like that? $15 dollars protects an entire acre of land. If you're in the moment, go with it, donate now!

Traveling anywhere in the world, how can you not look around and want to conserve and preserve everything our planet has to offer. To do your part, check out Conservation International and find ways you can discover, learn, explore, act and give. You can also subscribe to their YouTube channel here.