April 1, 2021

Engaging Visitors and Celebrating Sustainability

Sedona’s sustainability commitment is accelerating during Earth Month with activities celebrating environmental achievements and new ways to engage residents and visitors in the drive to sustainability. Rather than just celebrate Earth Day on April 22, the Sedona Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau (SCC&TB) hopes to create a larger conversation around sustainability and engage more people for an entire Earth Month.

“Our goal is to highlight the progress of the Sedona Sustainable Tourism Plan throughout April, while promoting initiatives we hope residents and visitors will take so we can all continue our sustainability journey together,” SCC&TB President and CEO, Candace Carr Strauss said.

An Arizona first, the Sedona Sustainable Tourism Plan is a community-generated commitment to strike a balance among the four strategic pillars of the visitor economy and experience, the environment and resident quality of life. After 18 months of vigorous community discussion, the Plan was adopted by the Sedona City Council in 2019.

Visitors to Sedona can view ways to take part in Earth Month on VisitSedonaEarthMonth.com, and so can residents on SedonaEarthMonth.com. Opportunities include taking a recycling quiz to learn more about recyclable items, signing the Sedona Cares Pledge, learning about the seven principles of Leave No Trace, voluntourism and much more.

“One positive impact of COVID is that travelers recognize their effect on the places they travel to, and want to connect with them in a way to leave them better than they found them,” Strauss said. “We are linking visitors with locals doing real sustainability work, such as trail preservation and trash clean-up. That is the ‘voluntourism’ concept.”

The Sedona Chamber’s social media platforms will feature some highlights from the more than 100 sustainably certified businesses per the Sustainability Alliance, tips on how to be sustainable in Sedona, and events celebrating Earth Month.

On Earth Day, staffers at Slide Rock State Park will distribute clean-up kits created by Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics and the Arizona Office of Tourism, as a way to educate recreating responsibly. The kit includes a single-use trash bag made of recycled plastic and a selection of seeds for greening up the garden back home. This event was created by the SCC&TB and partnered with Slide Rock State Park. Other Earth Month activities and announcements are forthcoming.

“Our message is that everyone who loves Sedona can move sustainability forward, keeping Sedona The Most Beautiful Place on Earth,” Strauss said.

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