Columbia Sportswear distributes $80,000 in grants for conservation projects
By Erik Siemers
Managing editor
A program led by Columbia Sportswear Co. that issues grants to notable outdoors conservation projects grew by more than 50 percent in its second year.
The Washington County-based outdoor apparel and footwear brand (NASDAQ: COLM) this week said it has issued $80,000 in grants to 16 conservation projects as part of the Belay Program, which it runs in partnership with the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of independent outdoor retailers advocating for the protection of recreation areas.
The selection of 16 grant recipients, each receiving $5,000, is a jump from the program's first year, when it distributed grants to just 10 programs.
“Grassroots members and their local nonprofit partners demonstrated the power of grassroots partnership and conservation in 2012,” Scott Welch, Columbia's global corporate relations manager, said in a news release. “Based on the incredible performance of last year’s recipients and quality of this year’s proposals, we are proud to expand the program.”
The term "belay" means to secure safeguard a climber using rope. The Belay Program, then, is aimed at providing the "basic necessities to secure and safeguard local projects improving our environment."
The 16 recipient, spread across 15 states, were chosen by Grassroots members. They each receive $5,000 either in cash, product, or both from Columbia. The awardees are:
- Climbing Higher, City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation/Rock Creek Outfitters
- Every Child Outside: Outdoor Adventures for City Kids, Common Ground/Trailblazer
- G.O.A.T. Kids’ Racing Series, Team Revolution/Alpine Shop
- Habitat Restoration & Exotic Plant Control in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park/Appalachian Outfitters
- Homer Lake Natural Playscape and NatureScape Exploration/Stewardship Programs, Forest Preserve Friends Foundation, Champaign County/Champaign Surplus
- Inheriting the Atchafalaya Basin, Atchafalaya Basinkeeper Inc./Pack and Paddle
- Kids in Kayaks, Port Royal Sound Foundation/Outside Hilton Head
- Lander Youth Climbing Initiative, International Climbers’ Festival/Wild Iris
- Maroon Bells Trail Reconstruction and Restoration Project, Colorado Fourteeners Initiative/Ute Mountaineer
- Marsh Ambassadors Program Center, Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Foundation/Wild River Outfitters
- NatureFEST, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science Foundation/Buffalo Peak Outfitters
- Project Outdoor C.A.R.E., Outdoor C.A.R.E. (Conservation and Recreation Education)/Pack Rat Outdoor Center
- Six Rivers Adventure League, Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy/Backcountry North
- Supporting BLM’s River Trips for Rural Montana Schoolchildren, Friends of the Missouri Breaks Monument/Base Camp
- Triangle Youth Conservation Corps, Conservation Trust for North Carolina/Great Outdoor Provision Co.
- Waldo Canyon Trail Improvement Project, Rocky Mountain Field Institute/Mountain Chalet
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