Grand Canyon

Delaware North’s team at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona hosted three Earth Day events: one for guests, one for associates and one for the community.

On April 20, Delaware North hosted a booth at the National Park Service (NPS) Earth Day Festival at the Grand Canyon Visitors Center. The theme this year was Sustainability: Then & Now, in celebration of the Grand Canyon Centennial this year. Delaware North hosted family- friendly activities as part of the celebration, including make-your-own corn husk dolls, an interactive display on light bulb energy consumption, a coloring area for kids, and giant lawn games such as Connect Four and Jenga.

Delaware North also hosted two informational display areas. The first featured historic photos of our operations next to current photos, and informed guests how new upgrades made the company’s operations more efficient. The other display visually demonstrated the amount of water used by daily tasks such as flushing the toilet.

The Delaware North team gave away fresh produce, reusable shopping bags, toilet leak detectors, and 5-minute shower timers.

The next event took place on Earth Day, April 22. The first was Delaware North’s monthly litter pickup in the Grand Canyon gateway community of Tusayan, Ariz. Finally, throughout the week of Earth Day, Delaware North partnered with the NPS Native Plant Nursery to spread a native grass and wildflower mixture in plant beds in the park as a beautification project.

Little Caesars Arena

Little Caesars Arena, where Delaware North operates food and beverage services for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons and NHL’s Detroit Red Wings, celebrated Earth Day with its second annual “Bee the Change” Challenge.

Associates were challenged to educate themselves on the importance of bees and other pollinators. The team passed out over 350 packets of wildflower seeds to Delaware North associates and our clients from Little Caesars Arena, and raffled off “Bee Condos” and other garden materials to help inspire associates to plant bee-friendly gardens.

Sea Crest Beach Hotel

On Monday, 265 third-graders and 30 teachers and chaperones from Mullen Hall, Teaticket East and North Falmouth Elementary schools came to the Delaware North-owned-and-operated Sea Crest Beach Hotel on Cape Cod for Earth Day. Pictured at right: Students gather on the beach at the hotel property during one of the activities.

Chef Glenn’s Seafood Sustainability

Sea Crest Executive Chef Glenn MacNayr engaged with students about local fish and food sustainability. Students learned about the types of fish, the impact on their availability and the connection to local dining choices.

Environmental Protection and Boating Safety

Town of Falmouth Marine & Environmental Services Deputy Director and Shellfish Constable Chuck Martinsen visited students to discuss the agency’s efforts to protect our local resources and educate the people of Falmouth about how to interact with the town’s beaches and ensure safety.

Structured Play Activity

There were two activity areas set up for students: the recycle relay and the bean bag toss. Students had an opportunity to visit both as part of the morning to be reminded of how to enjoy the beaches while being conscious of the ways human interactions and behaviors impact this local landscape.

Tenaya Lodge

On April 20, Tenaya Lodge at Yosemite hosted its Earth Day Farmers’ Market. The market showcased 13 local vendors offering everything from goat’s milk soap and organic olive oil to fresh, locally grown produce and samples from Idle Hour Winery.

In addition, the team at Tenaya Lodge hosted several activities on Earth Day, including a complimentary guided nature hike; tree planting; and environmentally related movies, games and crafts. They offered two Earth Day specials at the onsite restaurant – a sustainable king salmon salad and a banh mi salad – and offered discounts on eco-friendly products at the gift shop and spa shop.

Delaware North’s team at West Yellowstone, Mont., hosted a community Earth Day event at the company-operated Holiday Inn West Yellowstone.

The event, pictured at left, focused on kids’ education. Activities included “recycle basketball,” a “how long does your trash take” guessing game, seed-planting and crafts. An interpretive ranger from the National Park Service brought furs and skulls, and a representative from the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center brought an owl.

In addition, the West Yellowstone “Green Up” team had informative table about the local recycling programs, and more than 200 pounds of electronics and batteries was collected for recycling.

The Pine Lodge – Whitefish, Mont.

A team from the Delaware North-operated Pine Lodge hotel in Whitefish, Mont., spent about three hours on the morning of Earth Day cleaning up trash and debris on the river path behind the hotel.

SunTrust Park – Atlanta

Delaware North’s team at SunTrust Park in Atlanta wanted to help foster the next generation of GreenPath champions this Earth Day by visiting a local elementary school for educational programming on sustainability. Along with the Atlanta Braves’ mascot, Blooper, Delaware North associates spent the day at Green Acres Elementary in the Cobb County School District, where they led interactive activities such as a recycling relay race and gave the students facts about sustainable practices. The school also celebrated passing the one ton mark for its waste-diversion efforts.

Los Angeles International Airport

Delaware North associates from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) teamed up with the city of Santa Monica, Calif., for the annual “Nothin’ but Sand” beach cleanup effort.

Each year the Los Angeles community comes together to clean up the beaches by collecting all plastic, glass, paper, styrofoam and all other unnatural items. The event is focused on the L.A. storm drain systems, which are unfiltered and wash all street debris from city streets into the ocean.

In addition to cleaning up the beaches, the event helps raise awareness for local political efforts to address widespread concerns about single-use plastic pollution and its impact on water quality, food supply, marine ecosystem health and our carbon footprint.