Foundation Launched
Dear Forecastle Travelers ~
The Forecastle Festival, the country’s premier music, arts and environmental activism festival, announced today the launch of The Forecastle Foundation, a non-profit organization promoting local environmental education and international conservation.
While the festival has touched on a number of environmental issues over it’s ten year life and partnered with over 150 partner organizations, the Foundation will now become the central focus of Forecastle activism.
“The Foundation will give us an opportunity to narrow our focus to a single issue, that we consider to be at the forefront of concerns in the 21st century,” said JK McKnight founder of The Forecastle Festival and chairman of The Forecastle Foundation. “The initial idea came when I was 14, and read an article in National Geographic examing deforestation rates in the tropics. 15 years later, its come full circle.”
The Foundation’s focus is on the earth’s final remaining “hot spots,” areas of extreme biological diversity that encompass only 2.3% of the earth’s surface, but account for over 50% of all life. Hot spots play a vital role in regulating world temperatures, as well as providing a number of necessities most Americans use on a regular basis, including food, medicine, paper, detergents, cosmetics, and countless other products.
Hot spots are endangered due to a variety of factors, including pollution, development, deforestation, illegal hunting and a variety of other harmful practices. Through education, conservation and fundraising, the Forecastle Foundation hopes to secure the future of these “hot spots,” ensuring a vital piece of the health of the planet for years to come.
The Forecastle Foundation will work with international organizations on several hot spot projects per year. Locally, the Foundation will activate at the annual festival, as well as host and participate in a variety of civic events throughout the year. The Forecastle Foundation will seek to educate individuals on the importance of conserving the final remaining hot zones, and the individual efforts that can be made to improve the overall health of the planet.
NFocus Magazine and The Community Foundation will honor McKnight with the New Faces of Philanthropy award in December. The award recognizes young professionals for their innovative, inclusive and courageous philanthropic efforts.
For more information about The Forecastle Festival and Foundation, please visit: facebook.com/forecastlefoundation.
Website to launch soon.
