Look To The Stars News: Conservation International

Meet Jack Black At Conservation International Dinner

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:30:00 -0000

Fans of comedy actor Jack Black – currently appearing in Year One – will be able to meet the man himself at a special dinner being organized by Conservation International.

The dinner will take place in Seattle on October 20, and will also feature the preeminent conservation biologist of our generation and former Board member of Conservation International, Edward O. Wilson.

Conservation International is dedicated to conserving the Earth’s living heritage and our global biodiversity, and demonstrating that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature. Harrison Ford was once vice president of the organization.

To order tickets for the event, click here

Anderson Cooper To Be Honored By Conservation International

Mon, 04 May 2009 12:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Conservation International is to honor Emmy-winning journalist Anderson Cooper and CNN’s Planet in Peril Team with the Global Conservation Hero Award for commitment and action toward a healthy, secure planet for all people at its 12th Annual New York Dinner.

The environmental organization says “Cooper and the Planet in Peril Team have been at the forefront of CNN’s provocative and inspiring reporting on the global environmental situation, and their penetrating coverage of climate change, deforestation, species loss, and conflict over natural resources has reached widespread audiences with a critical message that nature is essential to humanity’s wellbeing.”

With honorary co-chairs such as Harrison Ford and Meredith Brokaw, the event is likely to be a sell-out. With its aim to conserve the Earth’s living heritage, global biodiversity and demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature, Conservation International is at the cutting edge of environmental work.

Founded in 1987, Conservation International provides a fund for scientists in 30 countries to identify and overcome biodiversity threats. It focuses its efforts on tropical wilderness areas, marine areas, and major wetlands, and since its inception has donated over $100 million to conservation partners around the world.

Ford joined the ranks of Conservation International as a board member, and soon became vice chairman. He became actively involved in the organization’s design and growth, and now sits on the Executive Committee.

“I was looking for a way to give back,” he explained to the Epoch Times. “What kept my support is their success and the inventiveness of their strategies.”

The Annual Dinner takes place on May 21 at the American Museum of Natural History. Tickets are available here.

Philanthropy Spotlight: Harrison Ford

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:30:00 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Look To The Stars’ Features Editor Tim Saunders takes an in-depth look at the career and philanthropy of Harrison Ford.

Unlike Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford actually likes snakes. In fact he likes a lot of the creatures that most people fear. He even has a Californian spider, Calponia harrisonfordi, named after him, its eight hairy legs enough to give almost anyone nightmares, and a South American ant also bears his name. Snakes of all sorts make their home around the white-painted ranch house he built himself in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and they slither and slide their way in and out of the shrubs and pockets of grass that dot the barren landscape.

The mountains that surround Ford’s house are among the most rugged in the state. Their jagged peaks create a feeling that the whole world exists within their confines, and the arid plains that run between them consistently record some of the most extreme temperatures in the United States. It is an area that conjures up images of America’s pioneers, of Lois and Clarke, of place names such as Owl Creek, Dead Indian Pass, and the Big Horn Mountains, romantic visions of a past long gone.

“My interests in the environment came from being in Jackson,” Ford once said to the Sunday Times. “I’d purchased land and I had a sense of stewardship about the place, because the majesty of nature is so apparent there. I have a sense of awe, a sense that nature is so complex and fascinating that it’s as close as I’ve come to understanding the notion of divinity.”

Almost half of Ford’s 800-acre ranch is now a nature reserve. It was a decision the actor found easy.

“It sort of fit this picture I had in my head that I’d carried around for a long time,” he said. “A picture of what the American paradise would look like. Woods and streams and stuff like that. Clear, mountain air…”

Ford has always had a high regard for the environment. As a child he wanted to be either a forest ranger or a farmer. Adventure was his calling, but little was to be found around his home. He grew up in a liberal, middle-class family in suburban Illinois. His father, Christopher, was a successful advertising executive and part-time actor who did commercial voice-overs. His mother, Dorothy, was a former radio actress.

In 1960, at the age of 18, Ford entered Ripon College, a well-known arts school in Wisconsin. But he lacked both the drive and enthusiasm to graduate, and preferred to spend time in theatre groups.

“I found a purpose in becoming an actor that I hadn’t found in any other ways,” he said. “In college, I found a group of people with whom I could work on a common idea. I learnt to act… I had always loved stories – emotionally I’m drawn to them – and acting is storytelling. So acting is what I chose to do.”

After registering as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam war, Ford moved his young family – which included a wife and two young sons – to California, where he started attracting bit parts in B-grade westerns and TV shows. But the work simply did not put food on the table for the Ford family, and the struggling actor turned his back on his fledging career to concentrate on another vocation – carpentry.

After buying a cheap house in the Hollywood Hills, Ford began remodelling and quickly became adept with the hammer and saw. The venture soon turned lucrative when a friend recommended Ford to Brazilian musician Sergio Mendes, who needed a new recording studio. The job led to others, and eventually Ford became a “carpenter for the stars.”

A chance encounter with George Lucas led Ford to return to acting with a role in American Graffiti. A few words from Steven Spielberg then prompted Lucas to hire Ford for the role of Han Solo, the wise cracking space smuggler in his next feature, Star Wars.

The rest, as they say, is history. In the wake of Star Wars’ success, Ford appeared in a number of films, but it was Spielberg’s decision to cast him in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark – a role originally written for Tom Selleck – that shot Ford into orbit. Of the 20+ films he has had a leading role in since Star Wars, 9 of them have grossed over $100 million each. Frantic, Blade Runner, The Fugitive, and Air Force One have all led to his reputation as one of cinema’s greatest action heroes.

Ford has been married twice, and is currently in a relationship with actress Calista Flockhart. The former Ally McBeal star is an avid and enthusiastic supporter of causes such as breast cancer research and domestic violence, and Ford often accompanies her to events to raise money and awareness of social issues. In November 2007, the pair joined Kirk Douglas in Los Angeles to provide Thanksgiving meals for the homeless.

But Ford’s overwhelming passion is the environment. In 1991, he was introduced to Conservation International, one of the world’s leading environmental research groups, and was deeply impressed with the intellectual capacity of its directors. Founded in 1987, Conservation International provides a fund for scientists in 30 countries to identify and overcome biodiversity threats. It focuses its efforts on tropical wilderness areas, marine areas, and major wetlands, and since its inception has donated over $100 million to conservation partners around the world.

“I was looking for a way to give back,” he explained to the Epoch Times. “What kept my support is their success and the inventiveness of their strategies.”

He calls the battle for conservation ‘a war without an evil enemy’ and believes that it can be won. ‘What we do today will set the course and the example for generations to come.’
Besides his work with Conservation International, Ford also serves as the first ‘airborne watchdog’ for the environmental group Riverkeeper, which identifies and prosecutes polluters of the Hudson River. He patrols the waterway in his helicopter and in 2002 received a Lindbergh Award for his efforts.

Flying is another passion for the actor. In 2004, Ford became the Honorary Chairman of Young Eagles, a program designed to give children a chance to fly in an aircraft for free. The initiative was launched in 1992, and has since flown over 1.3 million children, with volunteer pilots covering all of the costs. Ford has flown over 280 children in his own time, showing them the wide-open plains and rugged mountain areas of America. He says it is the best way to educate young people about nature, and about themselves.

“One of the wonderful things about aviation is that freedom and responsibility are great things for kids to be exposed to,” he told Airport Journals. “To be able to see the world in a three-dimensional way, and to give them a sense of the possibility that they might enjoy that freedom themselves, if they work for it.”

Since joining Conservation International over 16 years ago, Harrison Ford has donated large amounts of time, money, and land to conservation issues. He is also the honorary chairman for the Indianapolis Prize, one of the world’s leading awards for animal conservation. In return, he has received a whole swag of honours himself, including the Jules Verne Spirit of Nature Award, the KT Hurley Award for his work helping young people with their conservation projects, the World Ecology Award from the International Center for Tropical Ecology, the Global Environmental Citizen Award from the Harvard Medical School, and the Good Steward Award from the US House of Representatives. He claims these honours more than make up for the fact he has never won an Oscar.

But then, Harrison Ford isn’t really the sort of man who likes being in the limelight, and prefers to let his movies and actions speak for him.

If there is one thing the Indiana Jones star does want, it is for people to have a long hard look at themselves.

“We’re losing species at a rate that’s not been seen before; and it’s a result of human interference,” he said to Sunday Times Magazine. “I have four children and two grandsons. I feel responsible for tending to things I can affect as a private person, not as a celebrity. I can’t fix the world, but it’s our duty to help how we can. We have a moral responsibility for what we do as individuals. We have to accept it.”

Conservation International Hosts 20th Anniversary Dinner

Wed, 20 Jun 2007 07:25:02 -0000

Written by Tim Saunders

Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, and Meredith Brokaw (the wife of Tom Brokaw) were just some of the celebrities and business leaders present at the Conservation International 20th Anniversary Chicago Fundraising Dinner on June 14th. Held at the Four Seasons Hotel, the event raised over $1 million for Conservation International projects.

The evening was opened by CI board member Paula Crown, who declared that the event was officially “carbon neutral”. Guests dined on a selection of locally-grown organic cuisine, and were treated to a pre-recorded video message from former vice-president, Al Gore. During his presentation, Mr Gore emphasized Conservation International’s work, and also spoke of the importance of conservation and leadership in reducing the effects of climate change.

The business sector was also represented at the dinner by Lee Scott, CEO of Wal-Mart, whose company is working with Conservation International to protect and restore the diverse ecosystems that sustain life on Earth. Key speaker of the evening was Walter Isaacson, CEO of the Aspen Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering leadership and open-minded dialogue.

Harrison Ford has been a board member of Conservation International for over 10 years, at one time serving as vice chairman, and is now on the executive committee. He has been actively involved in the organization’s design and growth, and has personally donated 389 acres of his private land in Wyoming to conservation efforts.

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