Announcement and photos from ATRA member inov-8.
American Trail Running Association (ATRA) member inov-8 has donated £22,000 ($29,000) to help protect and restore peatlands – the world’s largest natural terrestrial carbon store. The UK Lake District based brand – who specialize in running, hiking and fitness gear – raised the money through a Green Friday campaign called For Peat’s Sake.
A percentage of all purchases from its website and store during the final weeks of November, combined with money pledged on a JustGiving page, made up the total. inov-8 also held a successful global litter pick as part of the campaign.
The donation has been made to Cumbria Wildlife Trust, a charity devoted to the conservation of wildlife and wild places in the county which homes the Lake District. It will be spent on protecting and restoring areas of peatland, widely recognized as crucial work in the battle against climate change.
Michelle Waller, Senior Development Officer for Cumbria Wildlife Trust, said: “Peatlands may only cover 3% of the planet, but their soils store twice as much harmful carbon dioxide as all the world’s forests. Protecting and restoring them means the CO2 stays locked away and doesn’t leak back into the atmosphere.
“The donation from inov-8 is fantastic, it’s great to work with a company that wants to help us do more conservation work and improve our environment.
“The money will go to the nature reserves which make up Witherslack Mosses (Foulshaw, Meathop and Nichols Mosses). It will keep 220 acres (that’s the approximate size of 146 football/soccer pitches) of peatlands healthy for a year, ensuring the carbon is locked away.
“In conservation terms, peatlands are the priority for restoration because of the vital role they play for biodiversity and in locking away carbon. In its healthy state, Foulshaw Moss Nature Reserve alone locks away over 5,300 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.”
In the past 12 months inov-8 has donated a total of £34,000 to the trust, with its previous fundraising efforts contributing towards the on-going planting of 2,000 trees at Staveley Woodlands, near its head office.
As part of its most recent campaign inov-8 held a global litter pick on Friday November 26th, with staff and athletes worldwide cleaning the streets and trails in their home communities. A team of 10 set out from inov-8’s Staveley-based brand store, The Forge, collecting litter from the village and surrounding areas.
Lee Procter, Global Communications Manager for inov-8, said: “We’d like to thank our customers, old and new, who supported us during the Green Friday campaign and played their part in helping protect the planet. It was a huge team effort and one we are all very proud of.
“We must get a grip on the climate crisis and do so before it’s too late. This is something none of us can run away from.”
