Environment: Putting Greenbacks Where the Green Is

Good news for the good guys: $60,000 is up for grabs for two environmentally focused nonprofits.

As of today, March 15, Redwood Creek Wines, a Modesto, California-based vineyard, is accepting submissions from U.S. nonprofits with grand plans—but meager means—for their Greater Outdoors Project, an initiatve aimed to “help maintain or improve America’s wide-open spaces.”

The winning organization will get a $50,000 grant; the runner-up $10,000. In addition to the cash prize, the top nonprofit will land a national advertising campaign set to run in outdoors magazines—including ADVENTURE—in December.

Applications and guidelines are posted online today through May 15. After that, a panel of judges—including our 2007 Adventurer of the Year, long-distance hiker Andrew Skurka—will review the submissions.

But the public gets the final say: From June 15 through July 31, you can head to Redwood Creek’s site to check out the judges’ top five picks, then vote for your own favorite. The winning projects will be announced at the beginning of August, so stay tuned.

–Andrea Minarcek