For Immediate Release: April 22, 2010
For Further Information Contact:
Kathi Anderson at 781-259-4701 or at
Kathi.Anderson@walden.org

The Walden Woods Project announces the launch of its newly-designed web site --- www.walden.org -- on Thursday, April 22nd, in celebration of Earth Day and the Walden Woods Project’s 20th anniversary (April 25th). Founded in 1990 by recording artist Don Henley (the Eagles), the Walden Woods Project is leading the effort to preserve historic Walden Woods in Concord and Lincoln, Massachusetts - the landscape that inspired the modern conservation movement and holds worldwide environmental, literary, and historical significance. Over the past 20 years, the Walden Woods Project has preserved nearly 160 acres of land in Thoreau’s Walden Woods, much of which had been threatened with commercial development.

The Walden Woods Project has developed a series of innovative educational programs, including its flagship global initiative – World Wide Waldens -- a web-based environmental education program that empowers youth around the globe to find their Walden, a place in need of care and protection in their community. World Wide Waldens offers a variety of activities that put Thoreau’s words into action, including a Walden Youth Leadership Summit, an online environmental project showcase, and a Live Deliberately Essay Contest.

One of the most content-rich web sites devoted to Henry David Thoreau and Walden Woods, www.walden.org incorporates new features that will strengthen the organization’s brand and make the site more inviting and user-friendly -- including streamlined navigability, broader and varied search options, an interactive map of Walden Woods, stunning photos and video. The new platform includes functionality for on-line memberships, donations and merchandise sales.

Kathi Anderson, Executive Director of the Walden Woods Project, said, “www.walden.org is a highly functional, compelling and aesthetically superb website that will effectively communicate our mission, strengthen our brand, serve our supporters and enhance our fundraising. It will offer robust content about the life and legacy of Henry David Thoreau, the environmental and historic features of Walden Woods, and the Walden Woods Project’s conservation and education initiatives.”

The site design is the result of a pro bono collaboration between the Walden Woods Project and the Boston office of Arnold Worldwide who provided creative and design services.

The Vice Chairman of Arnold Worldwide, Fran Kelly stated, “We wanted to make sure the Walden Woods Project had a site as rich and elegant as the organization itself, something that reflects the spirit of Walden Woods and the legacy of Henry David Thoreau.”

The website was developed by Silverscape, a Boston-based digital agency, and built on their Common Goal WebManager content management system. Jeff Leiter, principal of Silverscape, emphasized that "this website was an exciting collaboration among the various stakeholders on a project of important historical and social significance. Our goal of building a site that realized design and content requirements while also providing an intuitive interactive experience were important to the final result." The WebManager CMS provides the Walden Woods Project staff with rich features for managing and adding content to the website, web store and multimedia library for many years to come. Silverscape is proud to have contributed to this important project and regularly creates engaging online experiences, custom web applications and interactive marketing solutions across browser, desktop and mobile environments.

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