FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MudUp Launch Press Release

The MudUp campaign to clean up Puget Sound is kicked off with a new mascot at Alki Beach!

Alki Beach, Seattle, WA May 31, 2007

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

John Daly, Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines, (cell) 206-948-6851, email jdaly@shorelinealliance.org

Sian Wu, Resource Media, tel. 206-374-7795 x102, (cell) 206-701-4734, email sian@resource-media.org

 

CALLING ALL PUGET SOUND RESIDENTS: ‘MUD UP! GET DIRTY FOR THE SOUND’

Puget Sound Cleanup Campaign Launched, New Mascot Unveiled

 

SEATTLE—This morning, three of the region’s leading conservation groups unveiled the public engagement component of the larger campaign for the clean up of Puget Sound by 2020. Unprecedented in scale and reach, the campaign is called, ‘MudUp: Get Dirty for the Sound.’ The Mud Monster, the new mascot for the clean up of Puget Sound, designed by Susan Min, the creator of the Mariner Moose and the Seattle Seahawk, was also formally introduced to today. Puget Sound Partnership chairman Bill Ruckelshaus made things official with a ceremonial ribbon cutting of beach grass while wearing rubber boots in keeping with the campaign theme. Last but not least, the Governor proclaimed today “MudUp Day for Puget Sound.”

 

The three founding groups that make up the Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines, The Nature Conservancy, People For Puget Sound and The Trust for Public Land, developed MudUp to work in close coordination with the state’s companion public education campaign, which will use radio, television and billboard ads and other tools to raise awareness about the threats to Puget Sound’s health. MudUp.org will bring together community organizations and individuals from all over the region on a website, and then, more importantly, out on the shorelines of Puget Sound. The MudUp campaign, not only will serve as the one-stop-shop for Puget Sound cleanup events and activities, but also aims to engage the public with a fun spirited approach that reaches out to the broadest possible audience.

 

The web mobilizing tool, MudUp.org, takes the best aspects of the today’s hottest activist and community gathering spots on the web: from moveon.org to YouTube. The centralized clearinghouse will have information for users to pinpoint Puget Sound events and activities around the Sound, like removing invasive species, cleaning up beaches, planting trees and restoring waterfront trails. And, if they can’t find one, they can post their own, inviting other members of the community to join them. MudUp.org visitors will also be able to find out about lectures, guided beach walks, kids’ beach treasure hunts, and information on how to petition their elected officials. Or they can simply connect with others around the cause by sharing their favorite Puget Sound stories, photos and videos. MudUp emphasizes that there are many different levels of involvement to which people can commit.

 

“Community groups and government often work independently to do good things. And we’re pretty serious a lot of the time. MudUp turns this on its head. This is a very different cleanup campaign that will unite everyone around the clean up of the Sound and, let me tell you, we’re going to have fun while we’re at it!” said John Daly, of the Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines.

 

The May 31 launch featured a celebration with the people who dreamed up MudUp, Ruckelshaus and others from the State Department of Ecology and the Puget Sound Partnership, and citizens raring to get their hands dirty, some arriving by kayak. The event featured a special appearance by the Mud Monster, the new mascot for the Puget Sound cleanup effort. Miss Emerald City Allison Rone also appeared in her official capacity – she has made Puget Sound and the environment her focus during her reign. She will be participating in MudUp events throughout the summer as she vies for the title of Miss Washington.

 

“Washingtonians who live near the Sound know the value of healthy water and beaches, and so do I,” said Rone. “What I love best about this campaign is the ease with which each person can help: by making small, painless changes to our everyday routines, we can make a big difference on an aggregate scale. We’re all in this together.”

 

“From the past 15-20 years of efforts to save Puget Sound, we’ve learned its going to take a strong coalition working together to be successful. We are at a historic juncture here. It’s time to team up together, and approach this in a new, innovative way,” said Jeff Compton, outreach director for The Nature Conservancy. “These clean up events will just keep getting bigger and bigger as we count down to 2020, the year we will be able to tell the country and our children, ‘We cleaned up Puget Sound!’”

 

Governor Gregoire’s Puget Sound Partnership  goes into effect in July, 2007, and the Alliance for Puget Sound Shorelines’ has set initial goals of creating ten new parks, restoring 100 miles of shoreline and protecting 1,000 miles of shoreline by June, 2009. The state aims to reach its final goal of restoring Puget Sound to a healthy condition by January 1, 2020. Both the NGO community and the Puget Sound Partnership have studied efforts to clean up Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes and other polluted waterways, and the new campaign unveiled today exemplifies how Washingtonians will approach the Puget Sound cleanup differently.

 

The MudUp campaign’s official mascot—the Mud Monster—tells the story of a conservation-minded monster who loves aquatic creatures like salmon, clams and orcas, and does everything he can to educate kids, teachers and parents about actions they can take to prevent pollution from entering the Puget Sound. The Mud Monster will be working with schools and community groups to bring awareness to threats facing Puget Sound, and will be appearing at events throughout the duration of the MudUp campaign.

 

To download a press kit, please go to www.MudUp.org/press-room/media-kit-1.

 

 

 

# # #   SPLAT!   # # #

###