EOCA Friends Autumn Newsletter
|
 |
|
A Focus on Trees......
|
Welcome to autumn ....!
|
 |
Welcome to October’s Newsletter from EOCA! Following a fascinating summer launching the EOCA 2 Million Tree Project and then reading through over 100 applications for funding to make this a reality, we are very pleased to be able to update you on all the team have been doing recently .....
Tanya and Catherine
|
OutDoor Tradeshow Roundup
|
 |
We were absolutely delighted by the amount of money raised during the OutDoor Tradeshow held in Friedrichshafen in Germany, as a result of the generous donations of our members. Many thanks to all EOCA members who made this possible. In total €28,500 was raised, a significant amount in just 4 days of the show! Further to the huge number of products generously donated to the fundraiser held on the EOCA stand, many EOCA members helped raise more money via sales and events on their own stands. KEEN Footwear’s Hybrid.Care Event saw eager customers queuing round its stand to pick up one (or several) pairs of sandals and shoes. Stanley – a PMI brand sold its stylish 12oz Mountain Switchback mug and Camelbak offered personalised engraving on its insulated Kickbak mugs which proved extremely popular with all stocks of the mug selling out each day! The Scandinavian Outdoor Group welcomed donations at the Scandinavian Village bar for its drinks and snacks and Berg Outdoor sold sustainable, shock-absorbent cork phone cases. Not only this, but Klean Kanteen produced a special edition stainless steel pint mug commemorating EOCA’s 10th year which was sold for the Friday night party, and Vaude provided cakes for the party goers to celebrate the occasion with EOCA!
|
Welcome to New Members!
|
 |
EOCA is delighted to welcome 3 new members who joined the Association either during or immediately after OutDoor in July: Travel and adventure clothing company prAna, adventure product company Eagles Nest Outfitters Inc (ENO) and Czech producer Warmpeace. We very much look forward to working with these companies in the future.
|
EOCA Launches Plans to Plant 2 Million Trees
|
 |
As you will remember from our previous newsletter, EOCA is delighted to be implementing a plan to plant and regenerate 2 million trees worldwide, to commemorate the occasion of having spent €2 million on conservation work. What a big impact the Association can have through this project, and what a fabulous legacy for the industry. It is envisaged that outdoor enthusiasts will benefit from this project with trees providing stunning landscapes and exciting habitats to explore. Trees provide a huge number of other benefits to local wildlife and communities, not to mention the global climate.
This project was launched to the industry and the media at OutDoor in a number of ways. Timmy O'Neill, the ever popular comedian, rock climber, slack liner and Patagonia Ambassador gave a very entertaining talk on behalf of EOCA just before the OutDoor Awards. The plan was also launched at the International Press Conference on the first day of the show. This was followed by the planting of the first tree outside the Messe and an interview on local radio.
The plan was also launched with Members of EOCA at the Annual Assembly and Meeting. Guest speaker Dr Nick Brown from Oxford University gave an entertaining and informative talk on the many uses and benefits of trees and the importance of EOCA's project. Thanks to all members who made the effort to attend this meeting which also included board members taking a look back over the last ten years and a toast for the Association's 10 year anniversary.
|
Autumn Funding Round: 2 Million Tree Project
|
 |
Having launched the 2 million tree project, it was decided that the summer 2016 funding round would only fund projects which met all of EOCA's usual funding requirements, delivered through tree planting and/or regeneration. We are delighted to have received the most applications in a single funding round ever. Tanya and Catherine have had an extremely busy couple of months reading and assessing all 107 of them!
There are some very exciting project proposals to help us start our 2 Million Tree Project. EOCA will be able to fund the best 5 or 6, with input from EOCA's team of Scientific Advisors assisting Catherine and Tanya to choose these. These will be announced soon.....
In addition, some members have expressed interest in funding all or part of a relevant project to help EOCA reach the 2 million target.
We will also choose one project for a public funding campaign to be run via the EOCA website and which we will launch soon……. watch this space!
|
10 Faces of EOCA
|
 |
As this year is our 10 year anniversary, we have been running a feature series on our website called ‘Ten Faces of EOCA’ – each article featuring a different side to the Association and the work we do. So far we have featured a new member, a funded project, our president, our founder and an animal …… keep an eye out for more!
|
Spring Funding Round - Applications open soon
|
 |
Although we are still working through the applications for funding tree planting and regeneration projects that we received in the summer, our next funding round is nearly upon us!! This round will have the usual guidelines (available HERE) as to the type of project we are looking for, so please do encourage any nature conservation organisations to apply to us for up to €30,000. The application form will be online on our website from 1-30 November and shortlisted projects will take part in the public and then the member vote next March / April.
|
Q&A with a Sustaining Member: European Outdoor Group
|
 |
Mark Held, General Secretary of EOG, explains why they became one of the first seven Sustaining Members of EOCA, committing to finance the running and growth of the Association:
Why did you sign up as a Sustaining Member?
As the founder of EOCA, the EOG is incredibly proud of all the Association has achieved over the last 10 years. It is much easier to attract funds for the ‘exciting’ and visible part of the work that EOCA does i.e. the projects themselves, however the costs of doing this work and supporting the growth and building blocks of a non-profit organisation is vital if this work is to continue.
Why is EOCA important to your company?
The success of EOCA is actually much greater than most of our members and the industry realises. The focus on grass roots projects with real deliverables and an application process that has tangible benefits in terms of publicity, awareness and motivation for applying organisations even if they don’t receive a grant, means that in the conservation world, our modest effort really punches above its weight.
Why should other companies sign up as Sustaining Members?
EOCA really is a fantastic example of an entire industry working together for a greater end result – and I know of no other organisation in any other industry doing the same. We all recognise that in a modern business world there is so much going on that trying to keep people focused on the continuing need for investment and dedication to the cause of conservation is not easy. The EOCA team do a brilliant job of this, but when you next think that you don’t have time to read an email, or listen to what is going on, please pause for a second, look at the bigger picture and simply celebrate and be proud of supporting an organisation that has achieved so much on your behalf.
|
Get Involved... Action: 2 Million Trees!
|
 |
Well, no we are not asking you to plant a whole 2 million trees. That would be very expensive and really quite time consuming! But perhaps you could think instead about how you could look after or plant trees locally. Are there any volunteering opportunities with local conservation groups for example?
|
|
|
ecology
,
nature protection
,
eoca
+
182
-
168