Go Green With Us
Go Green With Us is a partnership between TN State Parks' staff and visitors to become better stewards of our natural and financial resources through the integration of common sense sustainability practices into park management and operations. Go Green With Us began in January 2015 as a recycling initiative for TN State Parks. A Go Green With Us Committee was formed including representatives from TN State Parks, Office of Policy and Sustainable Practices, and other divisions within TDEC. This committee compiled a comprehensive guide to outline the many actions staff and visitors can take to effectively incorporate environmental sustainability into all aspects of park operations.
The 9 sustainability categories in this guide contain approximately 100 prerequisite actions and 215 recommended actions. Many of the actions are practices that already exist in the parks, and others require some effort to put into place. The 9 categories include: Education and Outreach, Energy Efficiency, Green Offices, Habitat and Resource Protection, Guest Services, Maintenance Procedures, Recycling and Waste, Transportation, and Water Conservation.
In the first year the TSP Go Green Guidelines were launched (2017-18), it was a voluntary program for parks to implement the guidelines as they were able. Each park has a designated Go Green representative that is responsible for coordinating the park’s implementation of the guidelines and to report progress. As of October 2018, we are pleased to announce that the implementation of the Go Green Guidelines is now mandatory for all parks. Parks are required to execute the basic prerequisites in each category for the items that apply to the park. Together, we can become a greener and more environmentally responsible park system and stewards of natural resources. It takes cooperation from all staff members and visitors to make this plan a success and to reach our Go Green goal of protecting and preserving our State Parks through resource conservation, sustainable operations, and recycling.
To view the TN State Parks Go Green Guidelines and recognition program, please click here.
