Planetfesto

Planetfesto.org is an environmental education and action movement created on 2/14/2007. The goal is for individuals worldwide to create a virtual ribbon of 6" pieces--long enough to circle the earth. (nearly 263,000,000 pieces required). Each "piece" of the ribbon is made up of a photograph or drawing representing why the person loves the earth, a brief statement of why they love it, and a pledge of individual action. The ribbon creates an evolving, collaborative manifesto of love and action. Planetfesto is unusual in environmental movements as it is takes a higher view on the problem--that what is needed is a new era in our relationship with the planet. On the site, there is a quote by Wendell Berry: "What we do not love, we will not save."

People have contributed panels to the ribbon from 52 countries: Australia, Bahamas, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, India, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Lithuania, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Tahiti, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen (and Antarctica).

The approach unites web 2.0 social movements with the environment and education. Schools worldwide have participated, and challenged other schools to see how high a percentage of participation they can achieve. The Village School in Gorham, Maine contributed over 600 pieces of the ribbon http://www.planetfesto.org/index.php?s=tags_village+school --a long enough segment to circle their gym.

The site includes ideas of things you can do (both for adults and kids), lesson plans, and other resources. Other feature include music, search (and then see just the portion of the ribbon created by a school, group, or area of the world), and rating of people's favorite pieces of the ribbon.

Planetfesto was started by a husband and wife in California, with the help of friends, largely volunteer. The site promised never to sell or share the names of contributors, or to ask for donations as a result of having done a piece of the ribbon. There is no advertising on the site. Planetfesto is a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible nonprofit charity.

References

*named a "site of the week" by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): http://www.nrdc.org/reference/picks/pick0703.asp

*PC Magazin review from Germany: http://internet.magnus.de/surftipps/artikel/coole-websites-betrachter-de-planetfesto-org-popuri-us.html

*The National Association of Independent Schools newsletter: http://www.nais.org/resources/index.cfm?ItemNumber=149120

*Gorham Times article describing the Village School project: http://www.gorhamtimes.com/MYWEB/111607.pdf.

*Kansan newspaper article describing Burrton Elementary's Planetfesto project: http://www.thekansan.com/stories/110507/southern_20071105013.shtml

*finalist for the 2007 EduBlog awards: http://edublogawards.com/edublog-awards-2007-finalists-announced/

*KillerStartups: http://www.killerstartups.com/Video-Music-Photo/planetfesto--Build-a-ribbon-around-the-whole-world/

*Emily Chang's E-Hub: http://www.emilychang.com/go/ehub/app/planetfesto/

*Thinking Blogger award from the environmental blog The Conscious Earth: http://consciousearth.blogspot.com/2007/04/conscious-earth-receives-thinking.html

*Regina Lewis's newsletter/blog: http://www.reginalewis.com/2007/10/02/give-mother-earth-your-best-shot/

*GenYes blog review: http://blog.genyes.com/index.php/2007/10/31/do-your-part-create-a-ribbon/

External links

*http://www.planetfesto.org
*http://planetfestochallenge.blogspot.com/
*http://howtodothisgreenthing.blogspot.com/