Leading Swedish outdoor brand, Fjällräven, has announced grants totalling 120,000€ to three projects concerned with the outdoors and environment, in the first round of awards made via its Arctic Fox Initiative.
The Arctic Fox Initiative was launched this year to support projects and ideas that aim to protect nature and inspire more people to spend time outdoors – on an international scale. The projects chosen in the inaugural 2019 awards are The Beach Clean Network Limited, Leave No Trace and Hej Främling!, all non-profit organisations, from the UK, USA and Sweden respectively. In a public voting that took place on Facebook, followers decided which project should receive the most funding. Fjällräven has committed to providing €120.000 of funding generated from the sales of Kånken Art backpacks and the Kånken Rainbow. According to the Facebook results The Beach Clean Network will receive 60.000€, Leave no Trace will receive 40.000€ and Hej främling! will receive 20.000€ to support their efforts.
The Beach Clean Network
The Beach Clean Network Limited is a UK based non-profit organisation, set up to encourage beach cleaning. It is responsible for the #2minutebeachclean, #2minutelitterpick and #2minutestreetclean initiatives. The idea behind the project is very simple: you pick up litter for 2 minutes each time you go to the beach (or anywhere) and put it in a designated litter station. The money from the fund will be used to install additional litter picking stations on beaches across the UK, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus and recruit “#2minute Board Guardian Angels” in the UK, who will act as overseers of the stations in these areas and act as a support network for the guardians of the boards and the local community.
Martin Dorey, founder of the Two Minute Beach Clean says, “We are absolutely thrilled to receive a grant through the Arctic Fox Initiative. We have been working hard over the last 5 years to build up a network of beach cleaning stations and this grant will enable us to create a network of Guardian Angels to look after them, make sure they are always working properly, gather materials for recycling and work with the community to keep our beaches cleaner than ever. It is a dream come true for us to be able to do this, and to start getting more done in the next stage of our development. Thank you Fjällräven!”
Leave no Trace
The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting the outdoors by teaching people to enjoy it responsibly. Leave No Trace provides cutting-edge research, education, and initiatives so that every person who ventures outside can learn how to protect and enjoy our world responsibly.
The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics is putting the Arctic Fox grant to use, expanding their targeted education efforts with a focus on teaching outdoor visitors how to respect wildlife and afford them the space needed to protect their health and wellbeing. “Thanks to the Arctic Fox grant monies, we have created new wildlife-focused videos and online content – as well as conducting in-person trainings – that give outdoor enthusiasts specific, easily understood guidance about the skills needed to enjoy nature without disrupting the animals that live there”, says Mark Eller, Director of Foundations and New Business of Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics.
Hej främling!
Hej främling! is a Swedish non-governmental organization offering health boosting activities free of charge and open for everyone. The organization was founded in 2013 and has developed an integration method that thousands of refugees and local citizens have taken part in throughout the years. People in the outskirts of society are often materially supported by the government or municipality. But in order to grow as an individual and become self sufficient you need a meaningful life. This is often forgotten in the wheel of bureaucracy. The money received from the Arctic Fox Initiative will be put to use in providing activities such as running classes, mountain trips, skiing lessons, hiking, football, yoga, etc. for people in need in eight different counties across Sweden.
”We are proud to receive this essential support to our organization. It makes it possible for us to provide 180 health boosting activities to more than 3.000 participants – and every activity makes a difference for each participant – that is truly fantastic!” says Emma Arnesson, Director of Hej främling!
Fjällräven will follow these projects on their journey and you will be able to read more about them soon on
www.foxtrail.fjallraven.com. In the beginning of 2020 applications will be open again on the Fjällräven Arctic Fox Initiative website.
Anyone can apply with a project that fulfils certain criteria. Organisations need to be non-profits with a main goal to protect nature and / or inspire more people to spend time outdoors. Funding is then decided by a jury and a public voting system and supported by sales of selected products. As with 2019, all selected projects will get funding but the amount of likes each project receives within the voting period will determine who gets the most. The public voting is done via social media with the aim to reach out and get more people involved with the projects and raise awareness for the initiatives. There are many bright ideas out there, and exciting projects that have the potential to make a difference to the environment. They need our commitment and collective effort to be realised.