EOCA Vote results: the winners are…

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After two weeks of voting, the EOCA Autumn 21 public vote ended. We are delighted to inform that a total of 67,283 votes were cast to decide where EOCA funding was to be spent.
The worthy winners of the vote are:

 

Blue renewable energy to restore coral reefs in Indonesia, by Gili Eco Trust

 

 

 

 

Details of these 3 projects are now on the Current Projects section of EOCA website, and we look forward to being able to report back to you on the progress they make. A huge thank to all of you for supporting EOCA in its vote!

 

INFO: EOCA

EOCA joins Business for Nature
to Influence Ambitious Outcomes for Nature

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eoca-business-for-nature-300x300

The  European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) is delighted to confirm that it has become a partner of Business for Nature, a global coalition bringing together forward-thinking companies and conservation organisations.  Encouraging businesses to act now to reverse nature loss and advocate for greater policy ambition, the coalition is amplifying business voices calling for governments to adopt policies now to reverse nature loss this decade.

Nature is at a tipping point. More than 1 million species are threatened by extinction, 75% of the world’s land and 66% of the marine environment is significantly and potentially irreversibly altered by humans.  Leading companies already recognise this coming emergency, and many are making ambitious commitments and taking decisive action on nature.  But businesses cannot address this global crisis on their own.  To accelerate action, governments must set ambitious nature and climate policies that provide direction and momentum. With the international conferences on nature (COP15) and climate (COP26) coming up this autumn, now is the perfect time to ensure that there is strong and integrated global action to secure an equitable, nature-positive, net-zero future. (more…)

EOCA Commits Funds to Tackle Biodiversity Loss
in Seven Countries

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New Projects EOCA

Following the receipt of over 250 funding applications in November 2020, a comprehensive assessment process, a two week public vote and a members-only vote, the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) has now committed over €185,000 to seven new conservation projects, thanks to the continued generous support of its members.

This spring funding round is the first of four over 2 years which will fund projects in line with the ‘Wild for Nature: EOCA’s Landscape Legacy Project’ focus. All projects funded will address the double threats of biodiversity loss and the climate emergency, in various wild landscapes around the world. By being wildly enthusiastic about nature, the outdoor industry can protect wild habitats for nature.

The projects selected for funding by the general public, outdoor enthusiasts, and members of EOCA are: (more…)

EOCA Earth Day Fundraiser Success

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Earth Day Image

 

The European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) is delighted to reveal that its first online fundraiser this year has been a great success.  Following the cancellation of the in-person event of ISPO in January, when the association would normally have held a fundraiser to raise money for its conservation projects, the event was moved online to coincide with Earth Day on 22nd April.  With the support of a number of EOCA members, the organisation has raised nearly €27,000 to add to this year’s conservation project funding total. (more…)

EOCA Launches Online Conservation Fundraiser
for Earth Day 2021

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Earth Day 2021

 

The European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) has launched its first online fundraiser of the year to coincide with Earth Day (22nd April) and raise funds for vital conservation projects around the world.

The theme for this year’s Earth Day is ‘Restore our Earth’, which fits perfectly with EOCA’s recently launched 5-year strategy which has climate action at its heart, its new 2-year focus addressing the loss of biodiversity, as well as directly linking to the conservation projects it funds.  EOCA members have once again shown their support by donating products for sale or hosting events on their own websites, with 100% of money raised coming to EOCA and boosting the amount the association can use to support projects in 2021. (more…)

EOCA Online Spring 2021 Conservation Vote Starts Today

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EOCA project vote

Thanks to the generous ongoing support of members throughout 2020, the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA)  is delighted to be in a position to fund more conservation projects in 2021 than ever before. The association’s annual spring Vote for Conservation will run over the next two weeks, and everyone is invited to help choose some of the projects to be funded. In line with the association’s new two year focus Wild for Nature: EOCA’s Landscape Legacy Project, all projects on the shortlist plan to tackle the issues of biodiversity loss and the climate emergency. (more…)

Extraordinary Success for EOCA’s Green Friday Conservation Fundraiser

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The European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA), is celebrating today following an online fundraising event which exceeded all expectations in raising money for conservation.  Together with 17 of its members, the association held an online Green Friday Fundraiser which, thanks to the generosity of the member companies, resulted in more than €50,000 being raised. This has provided a significant boost to the funds available for the association’s conservation projects.

In advance of Christmas, the online fundraiser enabled customers to purchase gifts for themselves and their loved ones, whilst at the same time, making a difference by raising funds for conservation work around the world.  The money raised will all go towards vital conservation projects supported by EOCA, including the six most recently selected, tackling plastic pollution in the environment and at source, in Spain, Italy, Brazil, Columbia, and the UK.

Seven members raised money for the association through actions on their own websites: Montane made a significant donation to the fundraiser, as an alternative to its traditional Black Friday Marketing spend. Cumulus held an online ‘garage sale’, of prototype clothing and modified items which were not suitable for selling through the usual retail channels. All 70 items sold out within 2 hours! Deuter, Gregory, KEEN, and Osprey all donated a generous percentage of their online sales over the Green Friday weekend or for a full week.  La Sportiva who, having raised money for EOCA for the last 3 Black Fridays, doubled the percentage they donated this time to 40% of all online sales over the weekend. Thanks to a month of raising awareness of environmental issues and EOCA’s work prior to the event, the fundraiser was a huge success with a significant donation being made.  In addition to all the events held over the Green Friday period, VAUDE held a separate Advent Fundraiser and donated a percentage of its online sales from that event.

EOCA partner Outdoor Gear For Good (OGFG), sold a large range of items via its OGFG eBay shop, with 100% of sales donated to EOCA to put into conservation projects.   Items were generously donated to OGFG from Berghaus, Craghoppers, Lowe Alpine, Nikwax, Ortlieb, Osprey, Pajak, Salomon, Stanley, Trangoworld and Ternua.  Richard Leedham, Founder of OGFG said “Having only launched the OGFG eBay shop in the spring of 2020, we have been delighted to have already raised over €20,000 for EOCA’s conservation projects this year.  The collaboration of OGFG, generous outdoor brands, and EOCA, with its expertise in directing funds to effective and much needed conservation work around the world, really seems to have generated a lot of interest and resulted in very positive results. We look forward to seeing this partnership grow into 2021 and beyond.”

Joint General Manager Catherine Savidge said, “The success of this Green Friday event, at the end of 2020 in particular, is truly extraordinary.  It clearly demonstrates the will of EOCA members to continue to see the bigger picture and to work with others for a better world.  They gave consumers who are seeing the value of habitats and ecosystems to their own health, and the health of the planet, the opportunity to give back.  This total means that fundraising actions with our members this year has raised over €100,000 – double what we raised in 2019! What a fabulous way to end the year! It puts EOCA in a very strong position for funding more vital conservation projects during 2021. Thank you to everyone who made it possible.”

INFO: EOCA

EOCA’s Plastic Free: Mountain To Sea target Smashed!

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The European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) is delighted to announce that, following its latest funding round, it has surpassed its two year target to clear 3000km of habitat, trail and beach of plastic waste and pollution, clearing a total of 4,183km.

300 million tonnes of plastic are produced annually globally, 8 million tonnes of which enter the oceans each year.  80% of marine plastics originates from land sources and is found on mountains, in glaciers, around crags, along and in rivers and lakes, in forests and on coastlines. In all these locations, it impacts disastrously on wildlife and blighting every type of habitat and landscape enjoyed by outdoor enthusiasts.   100,000 marine mammals and 1 million seabirds are killed every year through entanglement or by ingesting plastic litter. (more…)

EOCA’s Online Conservation Fundraiser for Green Friday is now live: Get your favourite outdoor gear AND make a difference!

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The European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA), together with 17 of its members are holding an online Green Friday Fundraiser and it is now live!

In advance of Christmas, the online fundraiser enables customers to purchase gifts for themselves and their loved ones, while at the same time, making a difference by raising funds for conservation work around the world.  The money raised will all go towards vital conservation projects supported by EOCA, including the six most recently selected, tackling plastic pollution in the environment and at source, in Spain, Italy, Brazil, Columbia, and the UK.

Eight members have chosen to raise money for the association through actions on their own websites: (more…)

EOCA Funding Announced for New Conservation Projects

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Following a tense few weeks during an online public vote and subsequent members’ vote, the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) is delighted to announce the newest conservation projects it will be supporting this year.

In line with its current Plastic Free: Mountain to Sea focus and its target to clear 3000km of habitat, trail and beach of plastic waste and pollution, all projects concentrated on the removal of plastic pollution from wild areas, in tandem with education and awareness-raising strategies to change habits and practices to stop it getting there in the first place.   With nearly 44,000 votes cast for the 14 shortlisted projects over a tense two-week period, three projects were chosen by the general public in an online vote, which was also hosted by Mountainblog.eu and Mountainblog.it.  A further three projects were chosen by EOCA members:

Paddling, Cleaning, Teaching, Aprender, Brazil: will raise awareness of the issues of marine plastic pollution amongst local communities and schools as the project travels down the Atlantic Forest Protected Coastal Area on stand up paddleboards!  1000km of beach cleans, activities and events en route will raise awareness and engage 10,000 people to get involved in coastal and marine conservation.

Fishing Plastic: Magdalena River Clean-Up, Fundacion Colombia: This will focus on the cleaning of the main lagoons and beaches in the  Chocó-Magdalena-Tumbes Biodiversity Hotspot, through nine ‘Fishing Plastic’ events over 40km. The project will work with fishing villages to improve waste management,  run workshops for schools, and plant 5,000 trees to benefit local primate species.

Plastic Free Woodlands, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, UK: Plastic guards are critical to enabling young trees to survive, yet there are now millions of single-use plastic tree tubes littering the UK landscapes, which are disintegrating and polluting soils and waterways.  This project will remove redundant tree guards over eight hectares for reuse or recycling, engaging communities and volunteers in tackling the problem, and trialing a number of alternatives.

Stop the Alps becoming Plastic Mountains, Italy: The aim of the A⅃ꟼ project is to safeguard high alpine habitat, by working with mountain huts to eliminate single-use plastic items and develop procedures which can then be shared and implemented with other huts.  The project will organise 15 clean-up events to clear 150km of trail and mountain habitat and educate alpine guides, park staff, local schools, and the tourism sector.

Clear the Bay by Day, Morecambe Bay Partnership, UK: Morecambe Bay is the largest intertidal area in the UK, and a national biodiversity hotspot, but an epidemic of personal protective equipment is adding to an ever increasing amount of plastic pollution. The project will work with sporting groups to eliminate single use waste from events and carry out 42 clean ups along 210km of beach, cycleway and trail, involving local groups, visitors, and organisations.

Dos Manos, Save the Med Foundation, Spain: The Balearic Islands are a popular tourist destination and a hotspot for marine biodiversity in the Mediterranean, which is increasingly affected by plastic pollution either through ingestion or entanglement. This project will organise 527km of land and sea clean-ups involving tourists, volunteers, outdoor companies and schools. Workshops will help highlight solutions to plastic pollution issues.

 

Working in collaboration with The North Face, EOCA has also helped find three projects for the company to support through The North Face Explore Fund, which successfully launched in Europe last year.  The 2020 projects are as follows:

Purposeful Adventures, Trash Free Trails, UK: will run 100 clean-up events over 1000km for riders, runners and hikers, involving over 4,000 people during Autumn Litter Watch and Spring Tour de Trash campaigns.

Explore with Purpose, Planet Patrol, Germany: combines 18 litter picking events with water-based adventure activities along rivers and watercourses, encouraging people to get active, whilst simultaneously protecting nature from the harmful effects of litter.

Mountain Clean-Up, Summit Foundation, Italy: will organise 7 clean-up events in mountainous areas of northern Italy, seeking to engage with and educate those taking part about the impact of litter on wildlife and habitats.

A further four projects are being funded by EOCA Summit Members this year:

Conservation of Ringed Seals, Finnish Association for Nature Conservation – this is the fifth year in a row that POMOCA has funded this organisation, to conserve this threatened population of freshwater seals

Cleaning up the Wadden Sea, Stichting Duik de Noordzee Schoon, The Netherlands – funded by KEEN, this project is running diving expeditions to clean up this World Heritage area of the North Sea following the loss of a large number of containers and cargo from the MSC Zoe in 2019.

Fell Care Days 2020, Friends of the Lake District, UK – conservation days to empower communities to look after their local landscapes around the Lake District National Park, funded by Smartwool

The Tarkine Wilderness Project, Bob Brown Foundation, Australia – Ortovox is funding the creation of an app to help promote the value and significance of this wonderful wild area in an effort to protect its forests from logging.

Tanya Bascombe, Joint General Manager of EOCA said, “It is very exciting to be able to announce some good news, despite everything that is going on around the world at the moment.  Each of these projects are undertaking vital conservation work in the fight against the tide of plastic pollution we are all causing, tackling the issues at source and working to stop it getting there in the first place.”

More information on all these projects can be found at this link.

INFO: EOCA