Watsonville, CA, 5/15/2012 – The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program is a new nonprofit partner of 1% for the Planet, an alliance of over 1,380 member companies in 43 countries that give one percent of revenues to environmental causes.
The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program is now eligible to receive donations from 1% member companies, placing them among a diverse, global network of environmental organizations. 1% member businesses fuel this non-profit network through their annual contributions, which totaled over $22 million in 2010. Partnership with 1% greatly expands the potential pool of funding to which The Live Earth Farm Discovery Program can look to for support.
Newly approved, the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program contributes to a healthier planet by providing hands-on educational programs for youth, focused on the environmental and nutritional value of local, organic, and sustainable food and farms. Our goal is to reach out to all segments of the diverse, local community.
Over 2,300 non-profits worldwide are included in the 1% network, and over $70 million has been funneled to its nonprofit partners to date. “The intent of 1% for the Planet is to help fund these diverse environmental organizations so that collectively they can be a more powerful force in solving the world’s problems,” Yvon Chouinard, founder of 1% for the Planet.
“On the farm, our one-third acre Discovery Garden is an outdoor classroom, set within the greater, 120-acre working farm where our working fields, orchards and animals provide a learning experience that cannot be matched by most school garden programs. Learning about nutrition, food, farms, math, science, history and language arts from a variety of activities on the farm allows young people to exercise their bodies, connect with nature, and develop a “seed-to-fork” understanding of food, community and environment” Jessica Ridgeway, Director and Cofounder of LEFDP.
About 1% for the Planet
Started in 2002 by Yvon Chouinard, founder and owner of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies, 1% for the Planet is a growing global movement of over 1,350 member companies in 43 countries that donate one percent of their sales to environmental organizations worldwide. Each day, more than one new business joins the 1% for the Planet movement. As a network, the 1% community has become a frontrunner in funding the work of environmental groups around the world. To learn more about 1% go to: www.onepercentfortheplanet.org
About New Nonprofit
Live Earth Farm began its Community Supported Agriculture program in 1996 including community events and education from the start. In 2007 a partnership between Live Earth Farm and Santa Cruz Montessori School gave life to the Live Earth Farm Discovery Program. With the SCMS weekly visits to LEF as a base, LEFDP expanded the educaitonal programs offered at LEF and gained 501(c)(3) non profit status in 2009. In this time LEFDP nearly doubled the number of visitors to the educational programs and established programs to reach out to ever more diverse segments of the local population.
We host over 1,000 youth visitors per year, including weekly visits from Santa Cruz Montessori School, bi-weekly visits from more than 30 classes a year, and four seasonal visits from a class of 35 English Language Learner students from E.A. Hall Middle School, a Wastonville school serving mostly children of low-income immigrant and migrant workers. A home-school cooperative of parents and kids also works and learns on our farm and in our garden once a month. Many of the school groups we host come to our farm for one-time visits (about 700 of our student visits per year), and some host our staff for in-class lessons at their schools. Classes range from pre school through 12th grade, though the majority of the students we reach are ages 5-14. We also host 3 on farm community events per year, which attract more than 200 people of all ages per event.
