Volvo Cars of North America, LLC will be a title sponsor of a nationwide mural contest inspired by Disneynature’s OCEANS and the coinciding eight-city “One Ocean, One Planet” mobile education tour along the West Coast. Kicking off on April 5, the contest allows more than 15,000 students in 30 states the chance to win tickets to watch “OCEANS” at a local theater, as well as limited edition autographed artwork from Wyland and art supplies for the classroom. The winning classroom will be notified on April 28.
The “One Ocean, One Planet” mobile education tour will feature the Wyland Foundation Clean Water Mobile Learning Center, a 1000-square-foot biodiesel-powered mobile theatre / science centre.
It will be accompanied by the “One Ocean, One Planet” Volvo XC60 Art Car, which is wrapped in an image designed by renowned muralist and children’s environmental advocate Wyland for a 2010 United Nations stamp issue about ocean conservation and will deliver art supplies to elementary and middle schools.
The tour will travel to eight schools along the West Coast April 5-22, 2010 to celebrate Environmental Education Week and will combine the knowledge of artists, conservationists and scientists to teach students about marine life conservation, the importance of protecting watersheds, and the role of the arts in raising awareness about our oceans and environment.
Tour stops include:
- 5 April Washington Middle School, 2101 S. Jackson St., Seattle, Wash.
- 7 April Faubion School, 3039 NE Rosa Parks Way, Portland, Ore.
- 9 April North Avenue Elementary, 1281 North Ave., Sacramento, Calif.
- 12 April Marina Middle School, 3500 Fillmore St., San Francisco, Calif.
- 13 April United for Success Academy, 2101 35th Ave., Oakland, Calif.
- 14 April Ahwanee Middle School, 1127 East Escalon Ave., Fresno, Calif.
- 16 April De Anza Middle School, 2060 Cameron Street, Ventura, Calif.
- 22 April Downtown Disney, Anaheim, Calif.
“We had a really positive experience working with Wyland at a fundraiser last September so we were excited at the opportunity to partner with him and the Wyland Foundation again,” said Greg Hembrough, VCNA sales and marketing manager in the Western Region. “We’re thrilled to be on the selection committee to choose the winning mural, and to participate in ‘One Ocean, One Planet’ tour stops. We expect the students will show real enthusiasm to learn more about why it’s important to protect our oceans and marine life.”
Dating from the early 1970s, Volvo Cars’ commitment to the environment covers the entire lifecycle of the car, from design, engineering and production to useful life, service and recycling. Some notable milestones include:
- 1976 – Volvo set the standard for vehicle emissions control by inventing the revolutionary LambdaSond, three-way catalytic converter with oxygen sensor to remove 90 percent of the harmful hydrocarbons.
- 1998 – Volvo introduces the world’s first Environmental Product Information (EPI) for cars.
- 2002 – PZEV (Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle) engine introduced in California. PZEV-certified vehicles are the cleanest mass-produced vehicles available.
- 2003 – Volvo Cars became one of the first carmakers in the world to be awarded global certification under the international environmental standard, ISO 14001.
- 2008 – Volvo recycles 95 to 98 percent of the metals used in its vehicles and the cars are designed to be 85 percent recyclable overall.
- 2009 – The Volvo XC60 is RRR-certified (Reuse, Recycling, Recovery) to 85 percent.
