Back to Nature and The Nature Conservancy Launch The Backyard Guide to Nature to Help Make the Most of Spring’s Extra Daylight Hours

EAST HANOVER, NJ – March 5, 2009 – As the clocks spring forward this Sunday morning, March 8, don’t think about the hour of lost sleep, but rather think about the extra hour of daylight gained. With the onset of daylight savings time and spring just around the corner, 84 percent of Americans say they will spend the extra hours of sunlight enjoying the outdoors. Yet, according to The Nature Conservancy, nature-related activities, such as fishing, hiking, and visits to public parks, have declined between 18 percent and 25 percent since 1981. To help remind people that nature is within their reach and to find ways to experience it, Back to Nature and The Nature Conservancy have created The Backyard Guide to Nature, an online resource for fun, easy-to-do outdoor activities, all of which can be done in your own neighborhood, whether urban, suburban or rural.  

“Nature is within our reach every day, yet people are not spending as much time outside as they used to,” says Steve Long, Conservation Director The Nature Conservancy. “We want to help people experience the simple wonders of nature and get them outside again this spring.”  

In a recent Omnibus survey of Americans, 70 percent of respondents said the extra sunlight in spring makes them feel happy.¹ And what better way to spend that extra sunlight than in nature, something that brings us such simple pleasures and is easy to do, especially now as we turn the clocks ahead this weekend and gain an extra hour of daylight.

The tips in The Backyard Guide to Nature, which is available on www.backtonaturefoods.com, can help people connect with the nature in their local surroundings.  

For those looking to enjoy nature, the guide offers simple tips such as:

• Breathe in the fresh air or feel the rain on your face.
• Watch the sunset or sunrise.
• Listen to the birds in your backyard or local park.  

For those looking to experience a little more, the guide provides activity suggestions and how-to guides for things such as:

• Grow a garden: It’s easy to plant herbs, such as rosemary or thyme, or your own berries like strawberries of blackberries.
• Create your own birdfeeder with pine cones, peanut butter, birdseed and string. Place it in your backyard so you can watch the birds.
• Have a backyard sleepover or great picnic in the park.

And for those who want to explore even further, ideas include:

• A nature-focused vacation.
• Volunteer opportunities through The Nature Conservancy.

“You don’t have to travel far or spend a great deal to enjoy the nature all around you,” says Dan Anglemyer from Back to Nature. “Our guide reminds people of the endless ways they can interact with nature – from simply watching a sunset to camping in their own backyards.”

 About the Survey
The study was conducted on behalf of Back to Nature by StrategyOne, an applied research consulting firm. StrategyOne conducted a nationwide telephone omnibus survey of 1,002 men and women regarding their awareness and familiarity of nature around them. The interviews were conducted from February 5, 2009 through February 9, 2009, utilizing the field services of Harris Interactive.

About Back to Nature
The Back to Nature mission is to create great-tasting foods made from simple ingredients. The company is committed to providing high quality options for people who want foods they can feel good about eating because they have no artificial flavors or preservatives. Back to Nature offers a wide range of products from cereals and granola, to crackers and cookies, nuts and trail mixes and pasta dinners. To learn more about Back to Nature, visit www.backtonaturefoods.com.

 About The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.  To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 18 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 117 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org . 

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Contact:

Beth Heller
212-704-8161
beth.heller@edelman.com

About Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods (www.kraftfoodscompany.com) makes today delicious in 150 countries around the globe.  Our 100,000 employees work tirelessly to make delicious foods consumers can feel good about.  From American brand icons like Kraft cheeses, dinners and dressings, Maxwell House coffees and Oscar Mayer meats, to global powerhouse brands like Oreo and LU biscuits, Philadelphia cream cheeses, Jacobs and Carte Noire coffees, Tang powdered beverages and Milka, Côte d’Or, Lacta and Toblerone chocolates, our brands deliver millions of smiles every day.  Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT) is the world’s second largest food company with annual revenues of $42 billion.  The company is a member of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Standard & Poor’s 500, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Ethibel Sustainability Index.

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1. The study was conducted on behalf of Back to Nature by StrategyOne, an applied research consulting firm. Telephone interviews of 1,002 men and women were conducted from February 5, 2009 through February 9, 2009, utilizing the field services of Harris Interactive

2. The ongoing research supported by The Nature Conservancy, by professors Oliver Pergams and Patricia Zardiac, was published in February 2008 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study examines data from the United States, Japan and Spain.
http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/wisconsin/press/press3347.html