Granddaughter of Famed Explorer Jacques Cousteau To Help Spread Awareness of Water Conservation Issues By Providing Expertise, Insight and Online Tips

Environmentalist Céline Cousteau Teams with Planeterra Foundation And Gap Adventures as Official Earth Month Ambassador

 
Toronto, April 12, 2010 ˜ Planeterra Foundation (www.planeterra.org) and Gap Adventures (www.gapadventures.com) are proud to introduce environmentalist filmmaker and adventurer Céline Cousteau (www.celinecousteau.com) as their official Earth Month celebrity ambassador.
 
Cousteau will support non-profit Planeterra Foundation and Gap Adventures‚ annual Earth Month commitment to sustainable community development the world over through travel, education and fundraising initiatives. This year‚s efforts are dedicated to highlighting the importance of fresh water resources. According to a recent report released by the U.N. Environment Program, approximately 810 million people do not have access to safe drinking water. Thirty-seven per cent of these people are located in Sub-Saharan Africa.
 
As Earth Month ambassador, Cousteau, the granddaughter of legendary marine explorer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau, will provide her expertise, insight and support in a range of areas while offering water conservation tips throughout the month at www.gapadventures.com/earth-month.
 
„It is commendable that a travel company such as Gap Adventures chooses to raise funds to help support the Planeterra Foundation's Kenya Community Tourism Project,‰ Cousteau said. „With their outreach, they are able to bring much needed help and attention to important causes and thus provide a good example of what travel companies can do to positively impact the places they visit. I have taken on the role as their ambassador for Earth Month to lend one more helping hand.‰
 
As part of that effort, Planeterra is offering a 10 per cent discount off the price of any voluntour booked from April 1 to April 30. In partnership with Gap Adventures, they will work to raise $3,500 through an ongoing dollar-a-day project to buy water tanks for Planeterra Foundation‚s Kenya Community Tourism Project (http://www.planeterra.org/pages/projects/19.php?id=2).
 
The Kenya Community Tourism Project provides travellers with a cross-cultural opportunity to take part in the lives of locals in Kenya‚s Kowour Village, establishes an alternate source of tourism-based income for villagers, and provides support initiatives which supply much-needed 3,000-litre tanks to the village. The project has helped locals divert the time and energy they once spent hauling water for survival to invest in education, further agricultural production and other economic activities.
 
About Céline Cousteau
The daughter of ocean explorer and filmmaker Jean-Michel Cousteau, and granddaughter of the legendary Jacques Cousteau, Céline is featured in PBS' most successful new television series, Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures. Fluent in three languages, she has also collaborated with her father's Ocean Futures Society promoting the educational program, ŒAmbassadors of the Environment‚ throughout her travels. Céline has worked on the preparation of expeditions, been involved in field documentary production, and served as an on-camera presenter. For the past three years, she has served as an ambassador for Australia‚s ŒClean Up the World‚ campaign. Céline is also a spokesperson for Sea Web's ŒToo Precious to Wear‚ initiative and the World Resources Institute‚s ŒReefs at Risk‚ campaign. For more information, visit www.célinecousteau.com; Twitter: @celinecousteau
 
About Planeterra Foundation
Planeterra is a global non-profit dedicated to sustainable community development through travel. Founded in 2003 by Gap Adventures, Planeterra evolved out of a long history of travelers committed to finding ways to give back to the people and places they visit. Planeterra selects the projects and works with Gap Adventures to arrange voluntour travel programs worldwide. For information on Planeterra‚s year-round voluntour programs please go to:
http://www.planeterra.org/pages/voluntours/4.php or call 416-260-0999.
 
About Gap Adventures
Gap Adventures is a world leader in the adventure travel industry offering small group adventures on all seven continents and beyond to more than 100,000 global travellers annually. The award-winning trips, which focus on culture, nature and active travel, are ideal for those with a sense of adventure ˆ people who want to leave the beaten path and authentically immerse themselves in a local culture or environment to experience the real world in a sustainable manner. For more information, please visit www.gapadventures.com and www.planeterra.org
 
# # #