Environmentally Friendly Lodging & Habitat Open in Yosemite Valley
Visitors to Yosemite National Park should get ready
to experience the best side of green with the
debut of the Park's totally earth-friendly Habitat store and some very green lodging options.
With products ranging from
tee shirts made from recycled plastic bottles and children's games made
of soy, to organic snacks and solar powered water bottles that double as
flashlights, the new Habitat store offers a range of affordable gifts,
clothing and outdoor gear in a completely eco-friendly retail
environment.
Operated by Delaware
North Companies Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc., Habitat
exemplifies the company's award-winning GreenPath® environmental
stewardship program. Its
1,000-square-foot interior is a floor-to-ceiling exhibit of green
interior design and retailing. Habitat's display fixtures are made
from recycled items that have been used within Delaware North Companies
Parks & Resort at Yosemite's operations.
Throughout Habitat
shoppers will find educational signage focusing on Yosemite's
environmental stewardship projects, and impressive statistics about
waste diversion, energy savings and water usage. A selection of phrases
can be found throughout the store, such as "Yosemite recycled 28 tons of
plastic in 2009. If you laid the bottles end-to-end they would equal
111 miles or the distance of over seven round trips from Yosemite Valley
to Half Dome."
Habitat is currently open
Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Beginning May 26, 2010,
Habitat will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The store is located at
9015 Village Drive, Yosemite National Park, CA 95389. For additional
information, please call the store at 209-372-8453.
If this isn't enough green for you, the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls just unveiled two prototype guest rooms
on the cutting edge of environmentally-friendly interior architecture
and design. The two rooms at The Lodge are the first of their kind in
Yosemite National Park.
The eco-friendly guest rooms were designed
with an eye toward an eventual roll-out throughout the Lodge's 245
rooms. The prototypes offer an opportunity for
Delaware North Companies and the National Park Service to evaluate the
success of the overall design and gather guest feedback from those who stay in the rooms. An
additional goal is the eventual certification of Yosemite Lodge at the
Falls as a LEED (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design) and Energy Star property.
The "green" rooms are elegant...warm and welcoming. Here's a little something about all that's environmentally-kind on the inside:
Room
Entry
A new electronic
key card entry system integrates with the room's energy controls, using a
lock that requires 50% fewer batteries than older locks, with the
batteries lasting for nearly four years. After unlocking the room, the
guest places the key card in a wall slot just inside the door. With a
faint click, the key card activates select circuits that power lighting
and electronics. When the guest removes the key from the slot upon
leaving, the room reverts to its unoccupied, energy-saver state,
automatically reducing the demand for power to circuits that feed the
television and accessory lights.
Bedding
& Linens
The
American-made, 100% organic cotton sheets were produced in a
solar-powered factory in Rhode Island. The bed's blanket cover, throw
and window drapery are made from washable cotton matelasse.
Lighting
Handsome new
steel wall sconces, pendants and floor lamps in the guest rooms use energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs,
which use one-third the energy and last roughly ten times longer than
standard incandescent
bulbs.
Flooring
With fibers
produced in part from recycled plastic bottles and a backing
derived from old tires, the carpet tiles in the guest rooms add warmth
and comfort underfoot with a small carbon footprint.
Vanity
& Countertop
Produced just
outside San Francisco,
the countertop is made of 85% glass collected from curbside recycling bins.
This striking surface alerts guests that there's something different
and special about their room, especially when paired with drinking
glasses made from wine bottles.
Furnishings
Richard Kollath
designed a line of Old Hickory furnishings unique to the green rooms at Yosemite
Lodge at the Falls featuring distinctive, inset bow tie joinery. Like
other Old Hickory furnishings and accessories in the Yosemite Valley, this
rustic, durable collection is made using mid-western hickory saplings - the
hardest wood in North
America (30% harder than oak) and a renewable source that
continually re-sprouts from the same stump.
Recycle
Caddies
Kollath McCann's
prototype divided recycling caddies were also made by Old Hickory.
Water
The new shower
and bath fixtures in the Yosemite Lodge
prototype rooms are high-performing, water-efficient models that will
save nearly 5,000 gallons of water each year, using just 1.28 gallons
per flush.
Paint
The rooms are
painted using California-based Kelly-Moore paints with low- and zero-VOC
(Volatile Organic
Compounds).
ABOUT
GREENPATH®
GreenPath®, which began in
Yosemite National Park over a
decade ago, has since expanded to Delaware North Companies' 200-plus
venues across the world. A sophisticated environmental stewardship
program actively engaging employees at every level, GreenPath® ensures
environmental considerations are
incorporated into all business decisions. The program's initiatives are
showcased in comprehensive recycling, composting and other
waste-diversion programs, energy and water conservation, employee and
guest interpretation and education, sustainable, local and organic food
policies, strategic planning and partnerships, product purchasing and
fuel consumption. As a result, Delaware North Companies is one of the
first hospitality companies in the United States - and the first
operating in a national park - to earn 14001 environmental management
registration in the International Organization for Standardization
(ISO), a worldwide federation of national standards from some 140
countries.
ABOUT DELAWARE NORTH COMPANIES PARKS &
RESORTS AT YOSEMITE,
INC.
The Ahwahnee,
Yosemite Lodge at the Falls and Wawona Hotel are operated by Delaware North
Companies Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, an affiliate of Delaware
North Companies and an authorized National Park Service concessioner
overseeing lodging, dining, guest recreation activities and
transportation services in Yosemite.
