Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge

Photos by Tom Koerner.

Sustain's next Songscape has River Whyless headed to Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), a gem among America's 500+ refuges devoted to conserving wildlife and their habitats. Seedskadee NWR is twice the size of Manhattan and is located in the southwest corner of Wyoming. It is used by over 250 species of wildlife, which depend on the high desert sagebrush plains, and the oasis of the Green River which runs through the heart of the refuge. One of the star residents of the refuge is the Greater Sage-Grouse, a chicken-like bird dependent on sage and wide open spaces for survival. This unique bird, with the funniest mating dance you've ever seen, has been declining as the sagebrush landscape grows scarce due to development, oil and gas industry, and invasive species encroachment. That's why it's important we highlight the work Seedskadee NWR does to protect sagebrush habitat, and the wildlife that depend on it."

Learn more, and see beautiful photos at their website.

Songscape Updates

It's been a busy few weeks for Sustain! We have two Songscapes going this month. Songscape: Great Mountain Forest with Jake Klar just wrapped up and Songscape: Seedskadee NWR with River Whyless starts on July 30.

Songscape: Great Mountain Forest

Klar just finished his residency at Great Mountain Forest. The week kicked off with a potluck at the Great Mountain Forest farmhouse, alongside GMF's board members, staff, interns, friends and family. After a delicious dinner outside with the crickets and pines, we watched Green Fire, a documentary about Aldo Leopold, the father of conservation and the Land Ethic. To top off the night we had maple syrup sundaes, made with GMF's own syrup made on site. Forest products for the win.

Jake has completed his song, filmed a music video, and now we're in the process of arranging recording and video editing. We'll let you know the release dates soon.

Songscape: Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge

We are tired of making you tired with the requests for donations for Songscape: Seedskadee NWR! We're sorry. However, we still need funding! Luckily we had a great grant come in from Clif GreenNotes (of Clif bar) but we're still a few thousand short of being able to have Corey Robinson, National Geographic videographer, do the music video. Please consider donating here: https://www.generosity.com/volunteer-fundraising/songscape-seedskadee-national-wildlife-refuge

With that necessity out of the way, we're excited for the kick off Welcome Campfire on July 30. We have the great pleasure of receiving a beer donation from Storm Peak Brewing, a craft brewery out of Steamboat Springs. Awesome outdoor gear company, Stio, has also donated gear to River Whyless to help outfit them on their float trip on the Green River through the refuge. 

Crowdfunding for Songscape: Seedskadee NWR!

Hey folks! We have a great opportunity to work with National Geographic videographer, Corey Robinson, for Songscape: Seedskadee NWR. If we can raise the money, he'll be filming the music video of River Whyless at the wildlife refuge! This would be a great opportunity to raise Sustain's visibility and impact, show off the sage-steppe ecosystem and promote Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge and all their important conservation work.

Songscape: Seedskadee NWR Crowdfunding Campaign

We REALLY need your help, and we've come up with some great perks to say thank you for donating to Sustain. Particularly exciting is if you donate $500, Simon Roosevelt (Teddy Roosevelt's great-great-grandson, and conservationist in his own right) will personally inscribe a book of T.R. quotes to you. Even donating $25 gets you pre-access to the song!

Please support our efforts to make music a force for nature and consider donating towards Songscape: Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge!!

Earth Day Donation Drive

Happy Earth Day everyone! It would mean the world to us if you could donate to Sustain in celebration of our work to make music a force for nature. Even a couple bucks helps! As we do not have any paid staff, 100% of your donation supports our projects.

As a special offer today, anyone who donates $50 or more will receive a Guitarbage bracelet made from Parsonsfield's used strings (bass, guitar, mandolin, banjo).

Make your donation HERE! Thank you!

New Green Roster Band: Wise Old Moon

Newest Green Roster Band- Wise Old Moon! The band hails from Hartford, CT. Their music ties traditional folk influences with high-energy, twang infused indie rock. Wise Old Moon is dedicated to the environment- their merch is 100% cotton, USA made and printed with eco-friendly inks! Glad to have them on the Green Roster. Check them out and take a listen to their music HERE. 

This coming year, the band hopes to create another environmentally conscious merch piece, spend more time in natural places, and do their part to encourage other bands to take up environmental practices. Yeah!

New Green Roster Band: Ben Cosgrove

We are really excited to announce a very accomplished musician and environmentalist to the Green Roster. Ben Cosgrove is a talented instrumentalist inspired by landscapes and place. Nature is clearly situated in his classical-folk crossover music. "By focusing single-mindedly on place/landscape/environment in my music, I hope to actively work against that human tendency to ignore the things around us." Isn't he the best!? What's more, is that he's held artist residencies at public lands across the US! Learn more about his eco-experience here.

Give him a listen and look out for his next show on his website: www.bencosgrove.com

New Green Roster Band: Jake Klar

Sustain is pleased to announce that Jake Klar has joined the Green Roster! Not only does he make great gritty, indie-Americana rock & roll, Klar also cares about doing the right thing for the environment. Check him out and listen to his music at: www.jakeklar.com

(Secret: Sustain's co-founders contributed to Jake's Crescent St. Blues EP! Harrison played bass and Betsy made dinners to feed the crew! Go listen!)

As part of the Green Roster program re-launch, we're now giving all members their own page on our website, highlighting their environmental accomplishments. Check out Jake's, and learn more about him HERE.