Compass Media was founded in 1996 to produce Web sites for groups specializing in nature education, land and water conservation, and outdoor recreation in New England. The first sites were hosted at TheCompass.com.
Created by Jay Collier – a media producer with credits at WGBH, PBS, MIT, and Dartmouth – Compass Media’s goal was to provide a voice on the world wide web for small, mostly-volunteer organizations with limited financial resources.
Greeted by positive feedback and unexpected growth, pages produced by Compass Media were viewed over a quarter-million times during 2001.
Recognizing the need for a more formal structure that would allow additional community services, Collier founded Nature Compass LLC in Lebanon, New Hampshire, in October, 2001, to continue the work begun four years earlier by Compass Media.
Nature Compass LLC’s formal goal is to use high-quality digital media technologies and services to produce educational and entertaining Web sites that support nature education, land and water conservation, and outdoor recreation groups in Northern New England.
Nature Compass is currently seeking funding to: cover internet operating expenses; increase community-building services for existing and new partners; and expand in new areas, including creative services, mapping, and online tours.
At its heart, however, the mission of Nature Compass remains unchanged: to continue to produce web sites for grassroots partners that encourage respect and appreciation for the natural world.
