UCO New Years Resolution
The start of a new year always brings about the inevitable question: What will your New Year’s resolution be? Lots of people pledge to get healthy, visit family and friends, or run a marathon. This year, we want to throw another idea out there. We think part of being the best you can be means contributing positively to a greater good. Since we spend our days creating products to help people better enjoy nature, we like to focus our philanthropic efforts on the environment which gives us the rivers, oceans and trees that make our lives more full and exciting.
There are few organizations that we work with to help improve our wild places. We hope you will be inspired to join us!
One the most valuable ways to preserve our environment is to help teach others to value it just as much as we do! Big City Mountainers brings under-served urban youth on week-long wilderness mentoring expeditions that instill critical life skills. Through these programs, kids also learn to appreciate the beauty and challenges of nature.
Their Summit for Someone program raises money for the youth trips, and we are proud to say that our president and one of our ambassadors, Steven Reinhold, have both participated in Summit for Someone trips. In 2016, Steven will partcipate in two fundraising expeditions. One on Longs Peak and the second on the Skyline Traverse in Boulder, Colorado.
We encourage you to check out their program and join a Summit trip!
The Packing it Out team strives to inspire a greater sense of environmental stewardship by raising awareness about the litter condition of America’s trails. You can support them by following their adventure next Spring as they hike the PCT, removing trash as they go.
The Leave No Trace center for Outdoor Ethics strives to teach others how to take care of the outdoors. This is a principle we should all instill in our friends and family. Whenever you are out on the trail, we encourage you to pick up trash others leave behind, and to #trashtag while you’re at it!
Support our #TrashTag Project
Whenever you see trash where it shouldn’t be, pick it up, snap a photo and use #trashtag on Twitter or Instagram. And of course, make sure that trash makes its way into the proper recepticle! Even better, lead your friends on a hike, paddle or ski where you bring bags along to collect trash.
This year, we ask you to join us and commit to picking up 100 pieces of trash. We aim to remove 10,000 pieces of trash from our wild places by October of 2016, and we cannot do it without your help.
Happy New Year, and here’s to a better, cleaner 2016!
