Inside the World's First Environmental Theme Park
Tonic, the "
good news" site
Monday, October 19, 2009 3:33 AM ET
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Hollywood & Highland just got a whole lot greener, and they didn't even need a paintbrush.
That's because the environmental nonprofit Global Inheritance took over part of the popular L.A. shopping center to debut the world's first eco theme park, Environmentaland.
What does this interactive theme park entail? Fitness addicts can take the Spin & Shake class where exercise bikes power blenders to make an after-class health shake. Film buffs can attend Bigger Picture Movie Nights with screenings like
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"No Impact Man" and Robert Stone's "Earth Days" followed by Q&A sessions with the actor or director. There are even concert events in which the "entrance ticket" is a metro or bus stub proving a person took public transportation to the event.
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For those who simply want to learn about new green technologies and ways to help the environment, there are exhibits and contests that allow visitors to earn points toward free products from record labels, film companies and concert promoters. In fact, the person with the highest score each day wins two passes to a major event like Coachella, Phish Festival 8 or the X-Games. Additional points can be earned by bringing a friend or relative, recycling blue jeans and by arriving via public transportation, skateboard or bike.
"The Environmentaland concept stems from looking at the silver lining of a bad economy," says Global Inheritance founder Eric Ritz. "During recessions, people aren't necessary sprinting to shopping centers, and businesses are closing down their retail shops. It was the perfect time to create an environmental theme park because we get people to visit Hollywood & Highland and provide retailers with opportunities to partner with us and generate great word of mouth. Hollywood & Highland offers us a great location to reach thousands of people from around the world daily."
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Global Inheritance is one of the preeminent environmental nonprofits at music and extreme sports events nationwide, and many of their top programs have been recreated and expanded at Hollywood & Highland. For example, Tonic highlighted the TRASHed program last spring, but Environmentaland features TRASHed Recycling Drives in which special prizes are given for donating highlighted items like VHS tapes, DVDs and cell phones.
"Environmentaland was created using a lot of our existing assets we created for Coachella Music Festival, and we filled in the gaps with new programming to play out the theme park angle," says Ritz.
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"Since we are located in a shopping center, we feel that these important issues must be articulated in a way that will inspire the audience. Every attraction at Environmentaland connects educational, interactive and art elements to offer ticket holders the best experience. We want people to enjoy themselves, have fun and just get their feet wet as they learn about these bigger issues." Ritz highlighted three of the most popular attractions below:
Recycled Paper Plane Shoot Out (photo at left): "Inspired by M.I.A.'s hit song ['Paper Planes'], this program was founded at Coachella 2009 when we partnered with the artist. Using paper from the Coachella production office, festivalgoers competed for a chance to see M.I.A. on stage. Inside Environmentaland, we offer the chance to take an Environmentaland test to win points for answering questions correctly. After the quiz, your paper becomes your future paper airplane as you compete to hit a huge bull's eye and win festival tickets, Fuel TV skate decks and more."
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Desert Mini Golf (photo at right): "What if somebody turned off the faucet at PGA West? Desert Mini Golf presents the challenge of man vs. nature when it comes to water usage. Global Inheritance believes that change is good and that we need to be smart in making decisions. Sustainable golf is possible, especially in certain places in the world. With technology, science and common sense, man and nature can live in harmony, even on the golf course."
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Energy Playground (photo at left): "This power station offers people the chance to become a human power plant. Environmentaland offers an energy seesaw to power your mobile devices, a hand-powered listening station to sample unreleased music from today's biggest bands, and even a bike you can use to power TV sets, iPods and other devices. Visitors can even earn points in the pedal-power light box, where you take a spin and try to generate enough energy to power an LED, CFL or incandescent light bulb.
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The goal is to show the amount of pedaling energy necessary to power each. We are in the process of building the human hamster wheel that will be a part of our 2010 exhibits."
Environmentaland opened on a limited basis this past summer for special events, and with the support of Fuel TV, it officially debuted this month for a daily run that ends late October. Of course, setting up the first theme park took a lot of time, but with all the kinks worked out, Global Inheritance is ready to take Environmentaland to popular public spots across the country. Ritz is currently working on Environmentaland Portland for next summer, though he's clearly grateful to Hollywood & Highland for opening the first door and allowing him to realize this vision.
"Hollywood & Highland is our partner in Los Angeles, and I cannot say enough good things about everyone at the CIM group who operate the complex," he says. "They have really pushed the project and donated the space to our organization. Without their assistance and Fuel TV, Environmentaland would still only be a concept."
Photos courtesy Global Inheritance via Flickr.