Rainforest Alliance announces second annual “sustainability” photo contest

by Kraig Becker on

“Sustainability” has been quite the buzzword over the past few years and has been interpreted in many ways across a number of different industries. Now, the Rainforest Alliance wants to see what your interpretation of the word is in the form of a photo, as they launch their second “Photo Sustainability” contest.

The contest is co-sponsored with Fujifilm and is open to U.S. residents only, but offers up some great prizes, including a Grand Prize of a five day trip for two to Costa Rica that includes a stay at the Pacuare Jungle Lodge and a whitewater rafting expedition. The winner will also be awarded a new digital camera from Fujifilm.

In addition to the Grand Prize winner, four other winners will be named in the following categories:

  • Wildlife on farms, forests or other natural habitats
  • Landscapes (forests, waterways, flowers and plants, beaches, wetlands)
  • Sustainable tourism (hiking, bird watching, mountain biking, and other land-based nature activities; surfing, scuba, kayaking, snorkeling and other coastal or marine activities; other ecotourism-related subjects)
  • Conservation (people working to protect natural resources, including water, flora and fauna)

Each individual winner will also receive a new Fujifilm digitial camera as well as an honorary one-year membership to the Rainforest Alliance.

Up to five submissions in each category will be selected by Rainforest Alliance staff, who will then post them on their website where the public will be able to vote on them, helping to determine the category winners. The Grand Prize will be awarded by noted outdoor photographer Art Woolfe, who will be looking for “overall composition, creativity, artistic merit and relevance to the Rainforest Alliance mission.”

All submissions will be added to the Alliance’s library of photographs to be used on their website and other publications as they pursue their goal of raising awareness about conservation issues and the general theme of sustainability. To enter the contest go to RAPhotocontest.org between now and November 1st. Register online and upload your best photos. Winners will be announced on the Rainforest Alliance website on December 15, 2009.

Good luck everyone!

Gadlinks for Monday 7.6.09

by Brenda Yun on


Aloha, Gadling readers! Another week is upon us. Here are this Monday’s Gadlinks.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

More Gadlinks here.

Kayaking the Grand Canyon

by Kraig Becker on

For years it was nearly impossible to kayak the Grand Canyon independently. Sure, there were plenty of guided rafting tours that you could hire out for a few hour or a few days, but in order to float the river yourself, you’d have to get your name on a waiting list for an independent permit. That waiting list was legendary in its length and paddlers typically waited ten years or more to get the permission they needed.

Three years ago that all changed when the National Park Service switched to a lottery system that awarded the permits on a weighted system that favors those who have never rafted the river before. This new system did away with the waiting list, which had grown to 25 years in length, altogether, offering fortunate paddlers the opportunity to get their permit in a matter of months.

The lottery is conducted every February by the Grand Canyon National Park with all entries requiring a $25 fee. Each entrant is allowed to select up to five dates in which the would prefer to paddle, with the summer months being the most in demand. Those who haven’t floated the river in the past five years are given priority, and once the lottery has been conducted, winners are expected to pay a $400 deposit towards the total price of the permit, which is $100 per person. Unclaimed permits are given away in follow-up lotteries.
There are a few caveats to the system however. The Park Service requires that at least one person paddling under the permit have experience on the Colorado River, or under similar river conditions. That person will serve as the guide, and work with the other paddlers to ensure that it is a safe journey.

And what is it like to paddle the Canyon independently? Travel writer Kate Siber of the Boston Globe found out recently when she was lucky enough to go on just such a trip. She has written about her experiences in an article that was recently published in that paper, and from the sounds of things it was quite an adventure. Kate says that while the rapids are exciting and wild at times, the majority of the time on the river is spent on calm, flat water. She also reports that the scenery is beautiful and their is plenty of fun to be had exploring the side canyons and shoreline of the Colorado as well.

For adventurous kayakers, these new options for paddling the Grand Canyon are a wonderful opportunity. You no longer have to wait decades to get a chance to be out on the water, and you can enjoy one of America’s most impressive natural resources as few have ever had the opportunity to do.

To find out more about the lottery click here.

List of World Heritage Sites grows by 13

by Kraig Becker on

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee just wrapped up its 33rd annual conference in Seville, Spain, where they added 13 new sites to their list of amazing locations around the globe, and made the unusual move of dropping one. The new list of World Heritage Sites now stands at 890.

Of the 13 new sites, 11 are cultural sites and 2 are natural. The two new natural sites are the Wadden Sea on the border between Germany and the Netherlands and the Dolomite Mountains in Italy. The cultural sites include such places as the Tower of Hercules in Spain, The Sacred City of Caral-Supe in Peru, and Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain in Kyrgyzstan. For a complete list of the new sites, check out the official press release here.

The former World Heritage Site that was dropped from the list was the Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany. The committee expressed concern over the fact that a new four-lane bridge was being built through the Valley, and even attempted to give warning of this action, placing the site on the Danger List back in 2006. When construction proceeding anyway, they felt they had no other choice, but to drop the Valley from their list.

Three other sites have also been put on notice that they could also be dropped in the future. The Belize Reef Reserve System in Belize was put on notice mainly due to the harvesting of mangrove trees and excessive development in the area. The Los Katios National Park in Columbia was added at the request of the Columbian government to help mobilize international efforts to protect the region and The Historical Monuments of Mtskheta in Georgia were listed as “in danger” over concerns with the preservation of the edifices located there.

Despite reports earlier this week, the Everglades National Park has not yet been placed back on the danger list. The committee intends to study the situation and make a more informed ruling in the future.

The new additions to the list are excelent, and it gives us an amazing life list just pursuing these World Heritiage Site. Forget the “1000 Places To See Before You Die” and just focus on these 890.

DreamTours makes your cycling adventures a reality

by Kraig Becker on

Have you ever wanted to go on an epic cycling expedition? Perhaps explore the Serengeti by mountain bike or maybe ride the Silk Road? Perhaps you’ve always wanted to go on a cycling adventure to some remote place, but just weren’t sure how to prepare or handle the logistics. If so, you’re luck, as DreamTours is here to help!

DreamTours comes to us from the same team that organizes the annual Tour d’Afrique, an annual ride from Cairo to Cape Town, crossing 7500 miles of African wilderness in the process. The concept behind DreamTours is simple, come up with a great idea for your cycling adventure, post it on the DreamTour website and invite friends, family, and cycling buddies to vote on the concept and weigh in on the idea. If you get enough people to join your tour, the DreamTeam will handle all the logistics and make the adventure a reality. The best part, you’ll get to ride for free!

The DreamTour website acts like an online forum for adventure cyclists. Once you create your account, you’ll be able to post your ideas for cycling adventures, vote on the tours posted by others, and leave comments or questions about those trips. If you see one that looks interesting, you can elect to join the tour, or recruit riders to join your adventure, and you’ll soon be off and riding. If your tour sells out, you’ll get to go along for nothing, or you can choose to apply your discount to the entire team, saving everyone money in the process.

With the DreamTour team taking over the planning process, there will be nothing left for you to do but train for your cycling adventure. Once they have everything organized, and the logistics in place, you’ll simply hop a flight to your destination, and hit the trail.