What Can You Do To Celebrate Earth Week?
National Park Foundation Offers Top 5 Things You Can Do During Earth Week and National Park Week
Visit a Park for Environmental Awareness Therapy, Plant a Native Plant, Shop at Macy’s to Support the National Parks, Eat Close to Home, Support Your Parks
Protecting our earth is an increasingly important job these days, and it’s a job that takes all of us. The National Park Foundation is offering fun and easy ideas on what the whole family can do to be greener.
Top 5 Things You Can Do to Celebrate Earth Week and National Park Week
1. VISIT your local National Park - and bring a child! Visiting a
National Park is like environmental awareness therapy - and it is
economical too! There are 391 National Parks in the United States, and
they are closer than you think. When visiting a National Park, you are
inspired to be a greener person: to appreciate the wilderness and
wildlife, recycle, create less waste, reduce your carbon footprint,
and so much more. And if every person who visits a park this week
brings a young friend, this can help another generation of Americans
learn to love and appreciate this most precious resource. To find out
which of the national parks are close to you visit
www.nationalparks.org/nearyou
2. PLANT a native plant and promote your local area's natural ecosystem
with sustainable landscaping practices. Whether you have a large plot
of land or a window box on your terrace, cultivating native plants
helps the environment where you are. To learn more about how the
National Park Foundation is helping Americans restore native plants in
the national parks and in their own backyards visit
www.first-bloom.org
3. SHOP at Macy's on April 25th to benefit the National Park Foundation.
Macy's One Good Turn(TM) national charity shopping day is part of Macy's
Turn Over a New Leaf eco-awareness campaign. With a $5 contribution
that benefits the NPF as well as local conservation organizations, you
will receive an all-day shopping pass good for savings throughout the
store. Buy some running shoes and plan to leave the car behind the
next time you have a quick errand to run. Check out the cool
eco-friendly clothing, home decor and skincare options. Get Macy's new
reusable fashion tote for $1.95 with a $1 donation to NPF. Or even use
the savings for a bus pass and vow to use public transit! Last year's
partnership between Macy's and the National Park Foundation generated
more than $2.9 million and marked the single-largest fundraising event
in NPF history. To get your shopping pass today visit
www.nationalparks.org/npweek
4. EAT close to home and try to buy and eat food from sources close to
home. Go to a neighborhood farmer's market or grocer which has local
produce. Start with making one meal with only these ingredients. Then
build to a day. Then a week. Doing this cuts down on energy used to
transport the food and ultimately helps all of our green spaces. And
the food will always be delicious! Maybe make one of your meals a
picnic with your family in a National Park!
Even some of our national parks were once sustainable farms. At Carl
Sandburg National Historic Site in North Carolina, tour Mrs.
Sandburg's Connemara Farms Goat Dairy which supplied community stores
with fresh milk. To discover more about the Carl Sandburg and his farm
visit www.nps.gov/carl.
5. DONATE to the National Park Foundation to benefit the National Parks
at www.nationalparks.org, and your dollars will go to protect
America's wild places, preserve historic landmarks and support great
programs like First Bloom and Junior Rangers to connect children and
families to the national parks.
About the National Park Foundation The National Park Foundation is an independent charitable organization chartered by Congress in 1967 to strengthen the connection between the American people and their national parks. As the official national non-profit partner of America’s National Parks, the Foundation raises private funds, makes strategic grants, creates innovative partnerships and increases public awareness about the need and opportunity for park philanthropy. In its 2008 fiscal year, the National Park Foundation distributed grants and program support of
SOURCE National Park Foundation