GreenLine Earth Day 2021

It has been 365 days since the world celebrated its 50^th anniversary of Earth Day. This past unprecedented year has been full of lessons, new routines, and working together to stay connected while being apart. From grounded planes to empty roadways – this global lockdown had countless inadvertent benefits for the environment.

Earth Day is a great time to reflect on the ways in which the unforeseen global lockdown impacts to our natural environment can be carried forward. These changes, albeit temporary in some cases, have the potential to become standard sustainable practice going forward. Whether that means telework becoming the new normal to reduce individual carbon footprints or limiting air travel in favor of trains to meet with co-workers in different parks – National Park Service (NPS) concessioners have figured out how to get through and move forward remotely.

Earth Day celebrations this year are being held with a focus on park partnerships and Connected Conservation along with COVID-19 precautions, to raise awareness of resource protection issues specific to parks and regions. Take the Yellowstone Environmental Coordinating Committee for example – their team has planned several events with representatives from some of their concessioners: Xanterra, Delaware North, Yellowstone Park Service Stations and Medcor in the Yellowstone and Gardiner area to celebrate Earth Day.

The global Earth Day theme of ‘Restore Our Earth™’ is something that concessioners regularly strive to sustain as environmental stewards and resource protectors with the NPS in our national parks. The waste diversion, energy conservation, and resource preservation that most concessioners integrate into their operations help lower operational costs as well as environment impacts. For example, concessioners cut down on trash and energy by limiting single use items and removing luxury items that would need additional laundering in guest rooms.

Although most celebrations this week will not include large coordinated clean-up groups or in-person grassroots gatherings, we have comfort in knowing that year-round NPS concessioners are doing their part to provide unique experiences to visitors and bettering the world, one park at a time.