2064699
home,paged,page-template,page-template-blog-compound,page-template-blog-compound-php,page,page-id-2064699,page-parent,paged-162,page-paged-162,bridge-core-3.1.2,,qode-content-sidebar-responsive,qode-theme-ver-30.1,qode-theme-bridge,wpb-js-composer js-comp-ver-7.1,vc_responsive

The Joy Trip Project

Diversity, Environmental Justice, Interview / 30.07.2009

[caption id="attachment_543" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Tanya Fields"]Tanya Fields[/caption] Too many of us presume that nature is out there, far away in a National Park or in some distant foreign land. Many of us who live in cities especially never truly realize that nature is all around us every day of our lives. We probably take for granted the importance of fresh drinking water, clean air and access to nutritious sustainably produced food. Tanya Fields aims to change that. -- Formerly a hip-hop artist and spoken word poet, Fields now works as the operations manager of the Majora Carter Group, a green-economic development organization in New York City. In her Bronx neighborhood Fields has started a community garden to provide healthy dietary choices for her community and give her family a natural setting to engage in an active lifestyle outdoors.  She’s also fighting for social justice in an effort to claim the environmental rights of people disenfranchised by a legacy of racial discrimination and urban poverty. Introduced to the Joy Trip Project by Chagents, an online social network sponsored by the outdoor footwear and apparel brand Timberland, Fields tells her story in this interview.
Quote of the day / 30.07.2009

"The person who doesn't make mistakes is unlikely to make anything?" (Unknown) --It's the inevitable path of anyone trying to to make a difference in the world to make mistakes along the way. It's an impressive list of catastrophic failures that pave the way to long term success. Just remember to learn from what went wrong and make a better effort of it the next time you try. The only reason  you know what you did or didn't do wasn't right is because you have a fully formed image...

Commentary / 29.07.2009

This item came aross the desk this morning from the folks at Wend Magazine. The creative minds of Tappening, an intiative to encourage the consuption of tap water over bottled water, is spreading rummors. Adman Eric Yaverbaum is prompting consumers to make up falsehoods about the industry that delivers municiple tap water in plastic bottles. Check it out at www.Startalie.com. You can also listen to an interview with Yaverbaum posted to the SNEWS Live Podcast in April 2008. Click here for the link: http://cache.snewsnet.com/snews/podcast/Tappening.mp3...

Commentary, Outdoor Recreation / 28.07.2009

[caption id="attachment_505" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="Summit of Ensign Peak "]Summit of Ensign Peak [/caption] With a few hours to kill before my flight back to Madison from Salt Lake City I ran to the top of Ensign Peak. That is to say that I climbed to the summit as quickly as I could. I did a fair amount of walking as I scrambled up the warm asphalt and dirt trails. I’m still nursing a bum hip that’s gone from dislocated to merely damn sore. I continue to heal. But there with a panoramic view of the city below I had an opportunity to reflect back on the week’s event and declare to myself that this was the best Outdoor Retailer Summer Market ever! -- A bold statement to be sure, so I’ll qualify. Having attended OR every year since 1992 at this most recent summer market the excitement and enthusiasm for our business of outdoor recreation in my opinion has never been higher. Despite dire economic circumstances retailers and manufacturers set themselves to the task of productive commerce. They seemed to encourage one another to embrace the opportunities found in an active population eager to engage the natural world through sport and play. -- “This was a great show,” said Ira Watchel owner of Champaign Surplus in Champaign, Illinois. “Most of the vendors we deal with seemed to put their egos aside this year and were serious about helping us to improve our business.” And Brenda Mohr, a buyer at the Alpine Shop in St. Louis said she enjoyed the sense of community she felt this year. “By the time we got here, most of our buy was already done,” Mohr said. “We’re here and we brought our new managers to experience more of what the outdoor industry has to offer. It’s not the products. It’s the people.”
Commentary, Outdoor Recreation / 20.07.2009

[caption id="attachment_492" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2009 "]Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2009 [/caption] It’s that time of year again. The Outdoor Retailer Summer Market kicks off this morning with the Open Air Demo in Ogden, Utah. Then starting tomorrow and through the next four days about 30,000 exhibitors, retailers, outfitters, service providers and environmental activists will gather in Salt Lake City to share our common passion for all things outdoors. Held twice each year, winter and summer, OR is like a combination of Christmas and a class union. Everywhere you look there’re bright and shiny new toys to play with and old friends you haven’t seen in way too long. It’s also a meeting of some of the brightest minds tasked with the creation of practical products and systems to allow people to lead an active sustainable lifestyle.
Bikes, Commentary, Cycling, Madison, Outdoor Recreation / 19.07.2009

[caption id="attachment_484" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Team Joy Trip post Ride For Boys & Girls Club"]TeamJoyTrip[/caption] So far our Bike For Boys & Girls Club team has raised $1,375. With a more than a month of fundraising still to go we’re well on track to reach our goal of $3,500. On Saturday July 18th 14 of my cycling friends and I road our bikes 50 miles around the Madison area to help promote programs that engage disadvantaged young people in our community. And though we’ve ridden this familiar route dozens of times for our own enjoyment there was something truly special about doing it this time for such a worthy cause. --