Statewide program helps Tennessee State Parks ‘Go Green’
Sustainability is a top priority for many of the nation’s parks, but passion doesn’t always translate to an impact. Park leaders are tasked with building and maintaining sustainability programs that deliver long-term results—even after initial enthusiasm wanes. It’s a difficult challenge. But the Go Green With Us initiative of Tennessee State Parks (TSP) offers a model for success.
The program, which won the National Association of State Park Directors’ President’s Award in 2022, takes a wide and nuanced view of green responsibilities.
“In my history with Tennessee State Parks, we’ve had sustainability programs that have come and gone,” says Mike Robertson, TSP Director of Operations. Of the program’s national recognition, and what has enabled its longevity, Robertson credits not the sustainability measures themselves, but the data collection behind them. “It was the fact that we had developed a program that had established metrics to determine our effectiveness.”
Driving that effectiveness are several moving parts, the result of a constantly evolving and responsive program. However, Go Green With Us began with a simpler goal in mind.
