The website is a place where people can search through videos and how-to projects to learn about sustainable ideas and practices; or view our adventures as episodic entertainment that will spark ideas that they can implement. It will also be a place where everyone can chat and spread ideas on a discussion forum. Communities will be able to share ideas and questions directly with each other and post their words for the world to see.
Our website will leave no one out. People from any climate or financial position will be able to learn and apply these lessons. We will cover all types of sustainable topics and levels of involvement, from the very basic to the highly advanced.
Be apart of the movement- we invite you to watch videos, comment, post in the forum and spread this stoke to others!!
Start your own projects and help others! Tell us about it!
Learn Teach Grow
Enjoy,
Travis & Swix
EcoJaunt
Project length:
One year: 2011.
Primary Contact Name:
Travis Stanton or Morgan Denny
Brief project description:
We will travel for one year in the United States living in a converted van, visiting and interviewing eco-minded individuals and communities. We will create “how to” videos and informative footage that will be edited and uploaded to the internet on the road.
Mission for proposed project:
Our mission is to create an entertaining, interactive, educational video website that will spread sustainable ideas globally via the internet. By making our videos fun, we hope to inspire people to integrate more sustainable choices into their lifestyles.
Specific measurable objectives:
- We will create “how to” videos pertaining to twenty or more sustainable practices within the first six months.
- We will visit at least five communities within the first three weeks.
- We will seek information from individuals and communities from all economic backgrounds.
- We will post to the website at a minimum of once a week for the entirety of the project.
- We will amass an audience of five thousand viewers or more by the end of the first year.
Strategies for achieving these objectives:
- We will use WWOOF and Community of Communities to locate eco-minded groups and projects.
- We will network through the communities we visit in order to connect with a variety of sustainable living practices and demographics.
- We will utilize modern portable technology (cameras, laptop, internet...) to shoot and edit professional quality videos.
- We will set aside one day a week devoted to editing and uploading our videos.
- We will use facebook, youtube and vimeo to broaden our social network and viewer base.
Proposed timeline:
January - March 2011:
Complete fundraising and continue gathering videos regionally
April - May:
Travel through the Southwest USA
June - July:
Travel the Northwest
July - August:
Travel through the Midwest and Northern states
September - October:
Travel through the Northeast
November - January:
Travel through Southeast and Southern states
January – February 2012:
Dedicated to special projects
Completed stages:
- Fundraising letters submitted.
- Date is set for fundraising auction.
- EcoJaunt.org has been created and running.
- Ten videos have been completed and posted.
- Three communities visited in the Northwest.
Describe the community you project will serve. Include demographic and geographic communities, as well as the needs of the 'target' population.
We hope to reach all different demographics and communities with our project, allowing both urban and rural communities and individuals to have access to this information via the internet. Our goal is to obtain and spread knowledge that is pertinent to people of differing economic, social, and geographic backgrounds in order to provide relevant information to as broad a spectrum of people as possible.
If successful what benefits will your project bring within two years to those you hope to serve?
World peace and riches :) But really, within two years, we hope that individuals will be making more choices based on new knowledge, communities will be able to implement new ideas or improve projects already in play, and that more individuals will be better informed about sustainability and its importance to the world. We believe that by using our growing social network and the internet, we will have at least 7500 viewers and growing.
Describe the work you have done to research, design and test the project's viability.
We have begun our project on a small regional scale, visiting both communities and individuals who are making sustainable living a top priority. From these trips, we have created videos that are currently posted online and are receiving feedback as we speak. We have planned our theoretical road map and timeline for our jaunt and have completed the necessary vehicle modifications that will enable us to live, work, and travel in the van... in style :)
Describe key relationships you currently have with helpful allies in your target communities and elsewhere.
A BIG resource and relationship we have is with the WWOOFing community. They are a networked organization that will lead us to great minds all over the country. We have found that these communities are very eager to connect us with other communities, resulting in a constantly growing resource. Furthermore, the communities that we have visited, such as Mountain Village, Tilth and Mad River, are already excited and spreading the word about EcoJaunt.
We believe that fun is a major ingredient in life and this shapes how we engage people. We spice up our interviews and interactions by adding fun fennel to our knowledge noodles.
When people see how stoked we are about their sustainable tactics, and how eager we are to spread their knowledge, they become exponentially excited and we believe that this excitement is a key element for humans. This adds value to how they perceive their choices and we believe this energy is key to helping the movement grow.
Additionally we are in the process of creating relationships with local businesses that we believe have similar ideals and will support our project.
Board members:
Travis Stanton a.sailboat@gmail.com 503 816 2053
Morgan Denny livemorg@gmail.com 406 546 4005
Partners in crime reside at 1012 SE Tacoma St, Portland, Oregon 97202
References:
Travis Stanton
Sebastian Artz 310. 745. 2086 Photography Mentor
Joe Sneed 503. 995. 2632 Social Arts Partner
Rachel Gibson 310. 717. 7790 Personal Friend
Morgan Denny
Tony Rocklin 503. 450. 0591 Physical Therapy Clinic Director
David Deppeller 971. 226. 9736 Coworker and experienced clinician.
Steven Stanley 503. 380. 0036 Personal Friend
Fundraising: Give us an idea of who you plan to approach for support.
We have already begun to spread the word of EcoJaunt to friends, family, and local businesses alike. We have created a letter describing our project which we are distributing to Portland businesses in order to raise awareness and gain support. We are planning a fundraiser dinner/silent auction in order to raise funds as well and will be using items donated from local businesses to auction off. Portland is an eco-enthusiastic city, home to many businesses that strive to practice and promote sustainability and many have already donated items to our cause. In addition to our families and friends, we also hope to use professional contacts maintained over the years to further spread the word about EcoJaunt and gain support.
Prospective Sources of Fundraising:
- Fundraising/Auction Dinner (to be held the first week of March)
- Continuous PayPal “subscriptions” through our website
- General donations (monetary and otherwise) from local and national organizations
- Kickstarter Online Funding Platform (approved in November)
- We will also be selling small art projects along our journey if our bellies imply it's necessary.
Please feel free to call or email with any questions.
Project Directors:
Travis Stanton & Morgan 'Swix' Denny Jan, o4 2011
ecojaunt.org
