SOAR Blog

As a true-blue Lewis and Clark nerd, I could make pocket protector-worthy Twitter “what-if” jokes all day:

CaptWClark: msquitos unbearable, shoot me pls

CaptLewis: jrnl update: rivr forks. Lft or rt? @Anyone

Sacjwe: @CaptLews @CaptWClark Seriously guys?

For modern explorers, Facebook, Twitter, blog posts, online videos and podcasts aren’t an option, they’re a necessity. To secure funding, sponsors and grant organizers want to see a return on their investment and a robust online presence and harnessing social media is the most effective way to do it.

Last night I had the pleasure of listening to my friend and world-class river rat Jeff Hazboun tell a packed House at the Swaner EcoCenter in Park City about The Kamchatka Project’s expedition to Russia’s Far East last summer.

Sponsored by a National Geographic Society Expeditions Council grant, a team of seven kayakers made several source-to-sea first descents, gathered scientific data on watersheds and fisheries, and explored some of the wildest terrain left on the planet.

Just across the Bering Sea from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, the Kamchatka Peninsula is home to about a quarter of the world’s spawning salmon each year and one of the densest brown bear populations on the planet. Long an exclusive hunting ground for Russian czars and then an off-limits Cold War strategic site, the California-sized peninsula remains remarkably free from development. The volcanoes and lack of roads help too.

To fund the ambitious trip, The Kamchatka Project was sponsored by a who’s who of outdoor and paddlesports companies like Outdoor Research, Pyranha kayaks and Werner Paddles. But first, there was the granddaddy of sponsorships: The National Geographic Society’s support paved the way for other companies to jump on board knowing the expedition would receive plenty of attention.

To secure the Geographic grant, though, the team needed to show the value of the trip before, during and after the rivers were run. An expedition website provided quality education modules that teachers could use to give lessons on the geography, geology, wildlife and, of course, salmon of Kamchatka.

In addition, the team actively updated the site with planning and travel updates, contributed to National Geographic’s BlogWILD and promoted it with social media, Tweeting from satellite phones no matter how far off the grid they wandered. And while every member boasted the kayaking experience required for such an adventure, their “secondary” qualifications were no accident: PR professional, adventure filmmaker, photographer, designer, educator and scientist. Sure they were going to Kamchatka, but they were also equipped to bring a bit of it back for the rest of us with photos, video and status updates.

Not only is The Kamchatka Project’s media savvy a textbook example of how to get an expedition off the ground (literally, each helicopter flight ran the team upwards of $10,000), it’s a prime example of the power of good marketing. Whether you’re selling a product, running a non-profit or planning an expedition to the far reaches of the globe, the message is simple: Tell your story and tell it well. If it’s a good one, the rest will fall into place.

We got an invite to Mayor Becker’s press conference this week announcing the new sustainability ordinances that he wants Salt Lake City to adopt- ordinances would make SLC’s sustainability plan the most comprehensive in the country. It’s too bad our team couldn’t make it to the press conference, which was really more of a press tour of a Salt Lake business and home already implementing the proposed ordinances. Said ordinances address:

photo credit: Jim Urquhart | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is great news for Salt Lake City and is completely in-line with the city’s values- and history. One Salt Lake Tribune article points out that the Mormon pioneers who settled the valley lived sustainably out of necessity and efficiency. Today Salt Lake’s residents pick up their bikes more often, belong to food co-ops and want to see a reduction in traffic. Most expect that the ordinances proposed by Mayor Becker will be passed by the city’s legislature.

A lot of the folks in this town that like it “green” also like to live in the green- and desert- that surrounds. It makes so much sense to make our residential and business lives sync up with our outdoor recreation hobbies. It makes sense why Outdoor Retailer, the place for the outdoor industry to convene, is in Salt Lake.

SOAR is excited to see how these ordinances are implemented over the next few years and what feedback the community has given the mayor in this week of review.

We’re proud of what this town is becoming, and that it is already the type of place 40,000 members of the outdoor recreation industry want to visit on an annual basis.

More on SLC’s green initiatives:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/49891706-76/becker-says-lake-salt.html.csp?page=1

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/49915105-82/becker-residents-salt-changes.html.csp

I pledge to reduce my greenhouse gas emissions by 450 pounds during May, which many U.S. cities, including Salt Lake City, recognize as Bike Month.

I have the farthest commute of all the SOAR team members (about 30 miles), so I’m not going to attempt to commute the entire way by bike. But I will take the bus two to three times per week, and stop asking my husband to drop me off and pick me up from my home bus stop (I learned at the Bicycle Leadership Conference that 40 percent of trips in the U.S. are just two miles and are the most polluting). If I do this during the month of May, UtahCommuter.com tells me that I can reduce my vehicle trips by 450 to 680 miles and my greenhouse gas emission by 380 to 575 pounds.

Me prepping for the Momentum bike fashion show at Interbike

I first started using mass transit because it was cheaper than buying snow tires for my 1988 California-raised Volvo. Even though the threat of snow is gone (let’s hope), I still try to commute by bus twice a week. The entire commute from point to point takes about 30-40 minutes longer than it would if I drove by myself, but I think it is worth the extra time spent. One-way bus fare cheaper than a gallon of gas and the time I have on the bus to read Newsweek and study Portuguese is priceless. Plus, I get home to my husband in a much better mood not having fought traffic for 45 minutes.

I’ll also reduce my green house gas emissions by biking around town more. I’ve been assessing every road I drive on for its bikeability and often think, “I could totally bike this. Why am I even driving a car?” I see bike trips to the gelaterie are in my not-so distant future.

You can learn how many pounds of carbon emissions your commute reduces by registering at UtahCommuter. com (hint: if you only commute by a car alone, your commute reduces NONE! Think about it.)