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
