In addition to Blue Planet’s environmental charge, the company takes social responsibility one step further by sponsoring school fundraisers and beach cleanups. “All of our eyewear is designed with our beach lifestyle in mind.” The company enjoys being headquartered in seaside Carpinteria. They also use non-lead paints and offer many frames made from sustainable bamboo. Today, the glasses are all made from recycled plastics or metals that are nickel-free, which reduces toxic byproducts. “He wanted to do a better job creating a line that was eco-friendly and better for the environment,” said Matt Weinstein, who is now brand manager for Blue Planet. So he created new glasses out of all the postconsumer material and dubbed it Blue Planet Eyewear. In 2009, he decided that there was a better way to handle the massive amounts of waste involved in manufacturing. The elder Weinstein first began making Blue Gem Sunglasses in 1982, and the brand soon became known for a diverse collection of styles and frames. But it’s since grown into an eco-minded, Carpinteria-based company that continues to thrive as “my saving grace in life,” according to his son, Matt Weinstein. “Without this scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to experience what life as a conservationist could be like.” Read the rest of Sally’s story and view pictures of her travels, as well as Kylie’s photos from the Galápagos Islands at Planet Eyewear's Matt Weinstein and Lisa Lawenda Paul Wellmanīlue Planet Eyewear’s line of stylish yet low-cost sunglasses and readers started as a passion project in the Santa Barbara garage of the late David Weinstein almost 40 years ago. “I’m beyond grateful to Sally,” said Jackson, a conservation biology major who hopes to pursue a career helping to protect endangered species around the world. She even had an up-close encounter with a large group of sea turtles. She also saw sea lions, marine iguanas, blue-footed booby birds and more. Along with her classmates, Jackson visited four different islands during spring break, observing and learning about wildlife from local guides, visiting research facilities, hiking and snorkeling, and planting native trees for a forest restoration project. That’s true of UMW senior Kylie Jackson ’24, who was surprised to learn her donor grew up near her hometown of Rocky Mount, Virginia. “Sally opens up the world for students who would not be able to travel internationally without support.” “Getting to experience a global ecological treasure like the Galápagos Islands inspires students like nothing else,” said Dolby, who helped Hurt work with Mary Washington’s Office of Advancement to set up the scholarship. in the Cedric Rucker University Center’s Chandler Ballroom. Current students can learn about all of the opportunities that UMW’s Center for International Education has to offer at the 2023 Education Abroad Fair, held on Saturday, Oct. Under the direction of Professor of Biology Andrew Dolby, dozens of her recipients have explored the flora and fauna found on this remote archipelago off the coast of Ecuador. UMW students have been able to take their own excursions because of the Sally Brannan Hurt ’92 Study Abroad Scholarship in Biology, which she established soon after going on an alumni trip to the Galápagos Islands in 2011. “I love seeing plants, insects and animals that aren’t in my neck of the woods.” “Being in nature brings me joy,” said Hurt, who has since visited some of the most biodiverse places on the planet through the University of Mary Washington’s Alumni on the Road trips. The experience led her to establish the Sally Brannan Hurt ’92 Study Abroad Scholarship in Biology to support students going on faculty-led trips to the islands. Sally Brannan Hurt ’92 with a giant tortoise in the Galápagos Islands on a Mary Washington Alumni on the Road trip in 2011. Yet, she realized she yearned to see rainforests and savannas more than she wanted to sunbathe in the sand. She finally got her chance to go abroad to the Bahamas during a spring break trip in college. Growing up in rural Southwest Virginia, Sally Brannan Hurt ’92 dreamed of travel.
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