My first impression was the variegated greens of the trees…and the thought that this is what the forest looked like in Roman times. And just beyond the treetops, in the distance, I could see the barren hilltops. And that’s when it hit me. Here we were doing our bit to help bring the lush Caledonian…
A Human Waste Problem! Probably not the first thought that came to your mind, right? Seriously, we hikers love remote wilderness areas. But our love has an impact. At Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, more than 150,000 visitors make an impact each year. For more than ten years, ConservationVIP® volunteers have been repairing…
What kind of person would spend more than ten years volunteering thousands of hours for an environmental nonprofit, without drawing attention to himself and his contributions? We have such a person in our organization, and I decided this is the right time to call him out. Behind his back some people have called him John…
Nope. Not the popular TV show by the same title. Instead, this is about our visual identity. If “a picture is worth a thousand words”, then the branding of an organization should convey the essence of its identity. A meaningful portrayal of a nonprofit will effectively illustrate its mission, vision, and values. While that’s a…
The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. Patagonia is much further from my home than 1,000 miles. From the San Francisco Bay Area, it requires two days of travel to reach this iconic hiking destination and my personal journey there was complicated by much more than distance. For many years, I thought…
Conservation Volunteers International Program: The name really does not easily roll off the tongue. It is way too long. What were our founders thinking ten years ago when they chose a name for our nonprofit? It is not easy to come up with a new name. A name needs to be unique and memorable. They…