You’ve read the headlines. Twenty-nine workers killed in a West Virginian Massey Energy Company coal mine. More than 5,000 barrels of oil leaking a day in the Gulf of Mexico. Wildfires burn 100,000 acres of California forests. It’s enough to make you want to uncork a bottle of wine and down a glass or two just to keep calm.
Redwood Creek Wines understands this. They treasure the US environment and have granted $140,000 annually to various nonprofits in order to preserve our land and waterways. Now in its third year, they’ve selected 10 finalists with the help of a few judges, including Tonic columnist Ethan Zohn. The grand prize winner will take home $50,000 and the remaining nine will get $10,000 each.
Every week, we’ll introduce you to one of those finalists, and if you like what you read, head on over to the Redwood Creek Wines’ Greater Outdoors Project and vote for them. You have until August 31 to make a difference.
Hudson Basin River Watch
The Hudson River is largely associated with New York City, but its basin extends throughout the state and even into parts of Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Massachusetts. That’s 13,400 square miles! The organization that tends to that large mass of land is the Hudson Basin River Watch (HBRW). Every year, they teach the community about the river through a week-long course called the Clean Water Institute. It’s sponsored by the River Watch Network and local colleges. If Redwood Creek Wines awards them the $50,000 grand prize, they’ll plant more native trees and shrubs to enhance stream buffers and the beauty of the river basin. The HBRW will also continue to monitor the water quality, so that everyone can enjoy this natural resource.
Photos courtesy of Redwood Creek Wines.