Its Easy Being Green In Salem Oregon For Earth Day 2016 by The Grand Hotel in Salem in Salem, OR

Earth Day is almost here! There's no better occasion to get together your local community and help bring about positive change for this planet of ours. Earth Day 2016 promises to be a fun-filled day with several local activities to raise awareness, clean, and do your part for the environment. Bush Barn Art Center Family Art Day: Trees, Nature’s Home April 16, 2016 The whole family is invited to create small mixed-media tiles inspired by trees, including all things living in trees such as squirrels, owls and other birds at the Bush Barn Art Center on April 16, 2016 from 12:00pm - 4:00pm. This is a great opportunity to encourage creativity in your family. Materials will be provided. Click here for more info. Earth Day at The Oregon Garden: April 23, 2016 The 17th annual Earth Day, presented by Marion County, at The Oregon Garden is happening April 23, 2016 from 10am to 4pm. This year’s theme is 'Clean Water, Clear Skies'. Admission is free to the Garden on April 23, 2016 but guests are encouraged to make a $5 donation when you bring your family to enjoy this day of free education and entertainment. Click here for more info. Wulapalooza at Willamette University: April 23rd, 2016 The 18th annual Wulapalooza will be held at Willamette University on April 23rd, 2016. Visit the event's Facebook page for more info. Straub Environmental Center (Year Round Activities) The Straub Environmental Learning Center is a local non-profit that creates awareness and understanding of our relationship to the environment through their environmental education programs for all ages. Countless local residents and children have been inspired to become active stewards of our environment through their programs throughout the year. To learn more about the Straub Environmental Center, visit them at www.straubenvironmentalcenter.org or on Facebook. Though Earth Day is a fantastic opportunity to do something positive for this planet, we can't stop just there. It takes a long, committed effort to bring tangible effects on the environment, which is exactly why Grand Hotel Salem is 100% committed to sustainability. Our Practices Are Eco-Friendly How do we achieve our green goals? We incorporate sustainability into our practices. Use of 100% recycled paper for all printed material Responsibly recycles all paper, plastic, glass, tin, aluminum and cardboard All waste left from on-site events is sorted and distributed properly Facility finds alternative uses for items not recyclable or donates materials to local schools and organizations for local projects, promoting Re-Use Utilize Earth friendly cleaning solutions and drainage system Supports local economy by purchasing products and food from local suppliers, for the restaurant, the breakfast room and the hotel gift shop. Operates on Energy Star appliances Sleeping room towel and linen program that allows guest to re-use their bedding and towels. Sleeping room and public area recycling Replacement of all lighting in guest rooms with LED lighting Composting all food and compostable products throughout entire facility Participates with “Clean the World,” recycling all used soap products from guest rooms.. Purchase Wind power to offset energy cost Monthly Green training with employees Hotel donates all unclaimed lost and found items (after a 4 month period) to the Marion County Recidivism program through SOAR (Student Opportunity for Achieving Results) Our Sustainable Practices Already Have A Big Impact Our company-wide recycling programs allow us to support programs like Clean The World (the largest global recycler of hotel soaps and bottles). Since 2010 our hotel has collect over 4,049 pounds of waste! In other words, we have collected the equivalent of 12,324 bars of soap and other hygiene products for people in need around the world. Thanks to our recycling initiatives we've also recycled over 1,304 pounds of plastic! Grand Hotel Salem is EarthWISE Certified for Sustainability Did you know our green initiatives led to Grand Hotel Salem, Bentley's Grill, and the Salem Convention Center (also known as the Salem Block) becoming the first hotel, restaurant, and convention center in Salem and Marion Country to be certified by EarthWISE? It's true! EarthWISE is free business environment assistance program; the WISE of EarthWISE stands for Workplace Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise. Businesses must meet specific criteria for recycling, waste reduction, energy efficiency, water pollution prevention, and environmentally friendly purchasing. Earth Day reminds us that we all can play a role in helping Mother Earth, and you can count on Grand Hotel Salem always playing its part in leaving this planet better than we found it. We're all in this together, after all. Want to read more about our green initiatives?