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.

Visitors to Sedona can view ways to take part in Earth Month on VisitSedonaEarthMonth.com. Opportunities include:

• RECYCLING – Take this two-minute Sedona recycle knowledge quiz and practice recycling while you are here.
• LEARN THE 7 PRINCIPLES OF LEAVE NO TRACE – The Leave No Trace principles are recognized everywhere as the foundation of caring for the wild outdoors.
• SUPPORT LOCAL – There are over 100 businesses in Sedona and the Verde Valley that are sustainably certified with the Sustainability Alliance. Show your support by shopping, eating, staying or adventuring at sustainable businesses making the extra effort. There are also over 50 businesses that are signed up to be Straw Free!

“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.”

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.

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