Press Release 2006.07.10

Rock Band Invests in IslandWood and Others to Raise Awareness of Climate Change and Renewable Energy

(Bainbridge Island, WA) — IslandWood announced today that legendary Northwest rock band Pearl Jam has selected the Bainbridge-based outdoor education center for this year’s Pearl Jam Carbon Portfolio Strategy. IslandWood is one of nine environmental organizations selected to receive funding from the band as part of their ongoing efforts to advance strategies for clean renewable energy and carbon mitigation.

“We hope to create new models for businesses like ours who are looking to invest in the future health of our planet and its delicate ecosphere,” said band member Stone Gossard. “It is part of Pearl Jam’s goal to encourage Northwest businesses and individuals to invest in these and other leading environmental organizations.”

Originally created to help offset the carbon output produced by the band’s world tours, the Pearl Jam Carbon Portfolio Strategy invests in organizations doing innovative work on climate change and renewable clean energy. The nine projects selected for this year’s Carbon Portfolio employ a range of approaches to tackle these issues, including on-the-ground conservation and restoration, education, policy advocacy and promoting growth in renewable clean energy markets.

At IslandWood, funds from the Carbon Portfolio Strategy will be used to underwrite the costs of IslandWood’s four-day School Overnight Program so that children from diverse communities will be able to participate regardless of their ability to pay. As a result, these students will have the opportunity to be profoundly influenced by hands-on learning experiences in the outdoors and empowered by environmental stewardship projects in their own communities.

“We’re honored to be recognized by Pearl Jam,” said IslandWood Executive Director Ben Klasky. “Their Carbon Portfolio Strategy demonstrates the kind of environmental and community stewardship we’re working to inspire in the school children and others who visit our campus.”

IslandWood’s education programs are designed to inspire students to become active environmental stewards in their communities. By using the environment as a context for learning, students are able to make direct connections with the natural world and thus better understand their impact on the environment. As students explore the diverse ecosystems at IslandWood — including second-growth forest, cattail marsh, a bog, four-acre pond, organic garden and a stream draining into a Puget Sound estuary — they discover their roles as community members and stewards living within their local ecosystems.

In the last school year, more than 3,000 children from almost 60 schools in the Puget Sound region participated in IslandWood residential outdoor learning programs, with more than half of these students receiving scholarship support.

“We also work with our partner schools to apply the lessons their students learn at IslandWood and to assist classes in identifying and designing community stewardship projects for their own neighborhoods,” said Klasky. “These programs include monitoring streams, organizing neighborhood clean-ups, restoring local wetlands, and creating school gardens.”

Based on the principle that a more sustainable future demands knowledgeable, committed and reflective educators, IslandWood also trains future teachers. In partnership with the University of Washington, IslandWood offers a ten-month graduate program in the best practices of experiential, environmental, and multicultural education.

IslandWood is one of nine organizations chosen for Pearl Jam’s 2006 Carbon Portfolio Strategy. These organizations were selected for their continued work in the fields of clean, renewable energy promotion and carbon emissions reduction. By investing in these organizations, Pearl Jam is actively working to raise the world’s carbon consciousness by supporting organizations at the forefront of environmental awareness and clean energy. In addition to IslandWood, the other Carbon Portfolio Strategy organizations are American Solar Energy Society, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Cascade Land Conservancy, Conservation International, EarthCorps, Green Empowerment, Honor the Earth, and the Washington Clean Energy Initiative. Find out more about the organizations supported by the Carbon Portfolio Strategy at www.pearljam.com/activism.

About IslandWood
Located on Bainbridge Island, WA, IslandWood is a unique 255-acre outdoor learning center designed to provide exceptional learning experiences and inspire lifelong environmental and community stewardship. Through its flagship School Overnight Program, IslandWood’s educators combine scientific inquiry, technology and the arts to help Puget Sound-area students understand cultural and biological diversity. IslandWood also offers community programs for adults, children and families; volunteer opportunities; and other community events open to the public. For more information, visit www.islandwood.org.