Vote for CWC to Recieve Donations from New Leaf's Envirotoken Program

Just a reminder to everyone that May is ending soon and so is your chance to vote for the Coastal Watershed Council to receive donations from New Leaf Markets. Through their Envirotokens program New Leaf donates money to leading non-profits. Until May 31st you can vote for CWC at www.newleaf.com. We're on both the Santa Cruz/Capitola and the Felton/Boulder Creek ballots, and all voting is done online this year. Often we're asking for your donations of time or money, but this time you can protect local watersheds and get money to CWC with just a few clicks of your mouse.

After today there are only 5 days left to vote. Will you help us by voting and making sure 5 others do too? Please, we will benefit for the next year if we're among the top 6 vote-getters. Click here for watershed protection now, and enjoy however you are spending your Memorial Day weekend.

As always, please know we appreciate your support. Take care.

Cliff Bar: Meet The Moment Photo Contest

CLIF BAR today introduced Meet the Moment, a celebration of athletic adventures and the places they happen. Whether it’s action, adventure or the thrill of the chase, CLIF BAR wants people to share how they Meet the Moment by uploading inspiring photos and stories at www.MeettheMoment.com.

CLIF BAR will award three people who upload the most inspirational and creative Moments by July 31 an opportunity to pursue their dream adventure. Each winner will select the adventure of their choice (up to a maximum value of $12,000) - be it trekking the Amazon, chasing the Tour de France, riding a wave at J Bay, extreme boarding at Marmot or any other athletic adventure they’ve dreamed about.

Anyone is invited to upload a photo and share their Moment at www.MeettheMoment.com. The Moment can be described in “magnetic poetry style” by choosing from a bank of words that will be placed on top of the photo to create an individualized postcard. People can also opt to add their own words to their postcard.

Once the postcard is complete, it can be posted to a photo gallery on www.MeettheMoment.com. The gallery is designed to serve as a visual community of people sharing athletic adventures and stories.

A nice bit of press!

Kristin Leal, The Great Outdoors: Adventure Out brings adventure

Kristin Leal The Great Outdoors

Posted: 04/19/2011 01:47:28 AM PDT

The school bell is ringing and classes are in session all year long at Adventure Out LLC. The Santa Cruz based company is in the business of serving up wild adventures throughout Northern California.

And all classes are held in nature's playground, with plenty of local action and mini getaway options. So get ready for endless surf camps, rock climbing, backpacking trips, mountain biking and wilderness survival.

Adventure Out was created by Cliff Hodges and has been in operation since 2004. Hodges, a native of Santa Cruz, has brought his dream to work in the outdoors to life. The company is all about teaching people how to enjoy and protect the outdoors while being submerged in exhilarating adventure.

Surfing is on within the local waters of Santa Cruz. A number of classes are offered, including one-to three-day clinics, three- to five-day camps and private lessons. There is something for the whole family with teen and adult classes as well as kids' courses.

Hop into the local waters of Big Sur for a surfing and survival trip. Big Sur Surf Exploration Retreat is a three-day, two-night adventure that departs May 13 through Aug. 19. Mornings are filled with a surf sessions while afternoons provide options with a choice of another surf session, wilderness survival training or even a massage.

Rock climbing action is broad with classes based out of Castle Rock state park in Los Gatos, Pinnacles National Monument and Remillard park in Berkley. Day trips at Castle Rock, climbing camps and private lessons are available at Remillard park, Pinnacles and other popular climbing destinations around California.

The Pinnacles Climbing camp departs April 29, May 27 with additional trips planned for the fall. Kids and teens go nuts for the Summer Rock Climbing Day Camp at Remillard park. Trips depart July 11 through Aug. 15.

Backpacking prospects are extensive with several class options and upcoming events. Explore the Lost Coast on Aug. 13. The medium strenuous adventure treks about the California King Conservation area for four days. Get your yoga on while hiking through the Lost Coast on Sept. 2.

Hike to the top one of California's natural treasures for two days of strenuous action. Yosemite's Half Dome trips head out June 3 through July 29, along with more trips planned for the fall. Check out the High Sierra Expeditions in July 1 and Aug. 26 for three days of high-altitude back-country action.

Learn to mountain bike or challenge yourself and take it to the next level in intermediate classes. Bikes are available for rent, or you can bring your own. Classes are offered year-around, once or twice a month. Ride the trails in Santa Cruz with upcoming classes on April 24, May 7, 14 and 30.

Survival classes are plentiful with clinics, animal tracking, advance skill classes and adventure trips. Here, students learn basic survival skills like finding food, shelter, water and building a fire. Everybody has a chance to learn something new from the first timer to seasoned outdoor enthusiast.

For further information on Adventure Out, visit www.adventureout.com.

Kristin Leal can be reached at kristin.leal@yahoo.com

Interested in cool NPOs? Look no further...

Mama Hope is a non-profit organization focused on building self-sufficient communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. Mama Hope partners with Community Based Organizations and invests in high impact, cost effective projects, that meet their fundamental needs for food, water, education and health care. Mama Hope's successful projects to date have directly benefited over 76,000 people.

WE wholeheartedly believe there are enough resources in the world for every human being to have access to food, water, health care and education. We see it as our calling to connect these resources to the communities that need them.

We have found that Africa is full of movers and shakers, and innovators who have the power to help their community flourish, they just need a little investment to make it happen! Once
they have access to resources, a project can be completed that will
immediately improve the lives of thousands in their village. Mama Hope's
projects are designed to create infrastructure and jobs, spur the
economy and build self-sufficient communities.

Check it out HERE!

Rainier Mountaineering

I have recently returned from Mt. Rainier in Washington where I spent 8 days on the mountain developing the necessary skills for climbing Denali in Alaska. It was a sweet climb and I made some great friends along the way. We chose to climb Rainier in March to simulate the weather we would encounter on Denali. The average temperature hung around 0 degrees for the entire week and the mountain saw somewhere between 5 and 10 feet of fresh powder during our stay. Avalanche conditions were atrocious and winds got up to 40mph during our climb from 6k to 10,200 at Camp Muir. Descent off the mountain was made difficult by white out storms that made it difficult to see the wands we had placed on our way up. Even with all these hardships, I had an awesome time. We covered all aspects of climbing Denali including but not limited to snow camping techniques, ropes+knots, hardware, ice climbing, rappelling, belaying, prussiking, fixed line travel, glacier travel, crevasse rescue, and mechanical advantage. I'm back for spring quarter at UCSC. I will be heading to Alaska in June to climb 'The Great One'. Can't wait!

Organic Farming

The true life of an organic farmer, who gradually transforms his land into a revolutionary farming community, providing fresh vegetables and herbs to thousands every week. Jeff Larkey, of Route 1 Farms, will be in attendance to speak about his own life as an organic farmer, as well as conventional farming and GMO seeds. Hoping to gather other experts on the subject as well.

Bring your family, friends and neighbors. Also, please bring a blanket, a floor pillor or a rubber-footed chair as there will be limited seating on the yoga studio floor. Free admission. Donations will be accepted.

March 19th 6:30 PM @ Santa Cruz Yoga 402 Ingalls St.

Inspirational

Yesterday while surfing the web for new equipment I came across an inspirational story that I felt inclined to share. Sean Swarner is a Marmot pro athlete and two time cancer survivor. He was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease at age 13 and told that he only had a few months to live. After defeating Hodgkin's he was diagnosed with Askin's sarcoma at age 16 and told he only had weeks to live. Needless to say, he astounded the medical community with his survival. His dual bouts with cancer left him with a single lung but he wouldn't let that stop him from achieving the loftiest of goals. Ten years after battling through his second bout of cancer, Sean found himself standing on top of Mt. Everest. Being the first cancer survivor to ever do so, he decided to keep climbing in the name of cancer survivors and succeeded in summiting the highest mountain on every continent.

Sean is an inspirational human being with a character that just won't quit.

Check out his LIVESTRONG film here