Wild & Scenic Earth Day Collabs in the Works
The Wild & Scenic Earth Day Collaboration Series is back for another year! Several Brewshed Alliance partners have already ordered their hops–generously donated by Coleman Agriculture and Yakima Chief Hops–and begun brewing. Special shoutout to pFriem who has already released their collaboration brew, the Earth Day IPA!
The Wild & Scenic Earth Day Collaboration Series is a partnership between Coleman Agriculture, Yakima Chief Hops, and Oregon Brewshed Alliance partner breweries to raise funds and awareness for public lands and watershed protections through Senator Ron Wyden’s River Democracy Act. This historic bill would designate thousands of miles of new Wild & Scenic Rivers in Oregon, providing immense benefits for fish and wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, clean water, and other important values.
We can’t wait to try these special-release brews and raise our glasses to our favorite Oregon rivers!
Toolkits for Standing up for Public Lands
For lovers of public lands, wild forests, and clean water, the news from Washington D.C. has been troublesome. From firing thousands of employees who help take care of and manage our public lands, to attempting to gut environmental protections, fast-track logging, and undermine the very laws that safeguard our forests, wildlife, and communities it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless in the face of these attacks on our natural world.
But that makes the voices of those who care about these places matter now more than ever. Oregon Wild’s staff recently hosted a webcast laying out some of the challenges being laid down by the new administration, how we’re rising to meet them, and how every one can get involved and make a difference for the public lands they love. Check it out here.
The webcast details several actions people can take - from sharing updates on social media to meeting with elected officials in person. Our online activist toolkit covers these topics as well. Please check it out!
We’re urging folks to contact their members of Congress to ask them to oppose this attack on public lands, and all we value our forests for. Click here to take action for our forests today!
Brewshed® Partner of the Month: Coleman Agriculture
Based in the fertile Willamette Valley, Coleman Agriculture manages more than 7,500 acres of hops, hazelnuts, seed crops, and a variety of vegetables. They grow 16 varieties of hops and produce more than 4 million pounds of this essential beer ingredient. They have a deep commitment to integrating sustainable practices into their farming operations, as demonstrated by their Salmon-Safe certification and inclusion in Yakima Chief Hops’ Green Chief® program. We appreciate Coleman's efforts! As they put it: "Our team is focused on continually aligning our values with those of our brewing partners."
Coleman Ag has provided hops for this and previous year’s Wild & Scenic Earth Day Collaboration beer series and has recruited several breweries to the collaboration through their outreach.
BREWSHED® BREWS IN THE WILD
Earth Month is right around the corner and we can't think of a better way to celebrate than with a special Earth to Beer Organic IPA from our friends at Hopworks Urban Brewery!
This particular beer was enjoyed last summer along Union Creek, an important tributary of the upper Rogue River and included in Senator Wyden's River Democracy Act.
Spread the Word on Social Media
Let’s face it, social media can be an important part of spreading the word about your business and engaging with your customers (or supporters if you’re a nonprofit like Oregon Wild). This means that these platforms can also be an important tool for raising awareness about and advocating for public lands, watershed protection and restoration, and other environmental issues. Want to help spread the word about campaigns that benefit brewsheds, forests, and public lands? Oregon Wild has developed guidance for using social media for effective advocacy - check it out here!
For example, you can use key words like “wild rivers” or hashtags like #wildandscenicoregon #riverdemocracyact in posts that celebrate or advocate for protecting the water you depend on for great beer. You can also tag Senator Wyden (@ronwyden) in content promoting the River Democracy Act, showing him your support, and pushing him to reintroduce the bill.
When and if you post about your Wild & Scenic Earth Day brew on Instagram, please tag Oregon Wild (@oregonwild) as a collaborator! We would love to amplify the reach and promote together. Please email Phenix Johnson, pj@oregonwild.org to give us a heads up when you plan on posting, or for any social media questions! Here are two great, but different examples of promotional Insta posts: