Happy Thursday, friends, and happy almost holiday weekend! We’ll be heading to the mountains for a couple of days, but before we left I wanted to spread the word about an amazing initiative that was recently brought to my attention. The program — called Adventure Responsibly — is being spearheaded by Travelodge by Wyndham, and they hosted a cleanup event at Rocky Mountain National Park this past Tuesday. Unfortunately I couldn’t make the actual event (you know, kids and all), but I am here to make sure all you lovely readers know about future ones, in case there is one happening near you that you might be able to join.

The eco-friendly initiative was launched to coincide with the 103rd anniversary of the National Park Service in an effort to help protect and preserve our national parks through organized public park clean-up events from coast-to-coast. (And you just know I love our National Parks!) Rocky Mountain National Park was the first event to occur, and it’s being followed by clean-ups in the Everglades National Park in Miami TODAY, Bear Mountain State Park in Rockland County, NY on September 5 and Yellowstone National Park in Montana on September 9.

If you’re not able to attend an actual clean-up event, you can partner with family and friends to organize a clean-up event of your own through the site. 

I love this idea because it makes it so easy to give back to the National Parks that give us so much joy in the first place. Here’s hoping these clean-ups become an annual thing, and that the participation spreads.

Bis bald, friends!

*All photos provided by Travelodge by Wyndham