Lush green forests, mountain trails and a world class river make the Ocoee River in southeastern Tennessee a perfect adventure sports paradise. It’s common to see 250,000 whitewater kayakers and rafters paddle the Ocoee each year and exponentially more drivers checking out the action along the adjacent road. Unfortunately, with the crowds also come trash. Lots of it. But a group of kayakers from Atlanta have rallied around the cause and pride themselves on cleaner rivers.

Resource Links

Atlanta Whitewater Club

American Whitewater

Clif Bar

Raft1.com

Endless River Adventures

Coming off a short summer break, I recently heard a fun NPR story about Stacations. Upon further thought, not only does Chattanooga offer fantastic staycation options, it’s easy to make them Green while saving some green.

Resource Links

Ocoee Adventure Center

Big Frog Expeditions

Outdoor Chattanooga

Hiwassee Outfitters

Brad Herzog’s Travel Blog

Brad Herzog’s Web Site and Book Store

Recreational Vehicle Industry Association

Freightliner Chassis

Winnebago Industries

Eaton Corporation

Odyssey Land Company: http://www.odysseylandco.com/

Lula Lake Land Trust : http://www.lulalake.org/

Nature Conservancy: http://www.nature.org/

Part of knowing where a movement is going is understanding where it’s been. When it comes to Chattanooga’s Green story, few can put the conversation into context like WGOW’s affable talk show host, Jeff Styles. Never a dull moment and always an interesting perspective with Jeff. He joined GoldToGreenTV.com for a few minutes at Chattanooga’s Eco Expo.

While Chattanaooga’s first ever Eco Expo is now complete, the benefits of bringing the city’s Green community into one room – a large one at that – may just be starting to gel. Like for many of you, GoldToGreenTV.com found the Eco Expo to be a natural one-stop stop where we could learn more about the commitment, direction, and progress of Chattanooga’s Green story. With that in mind, we also thought it might be a good idea to put the Eco Expo in its proper context as it serves as the backdrop for some fascinating GoldToGreenTV.com profiles in the coming weeks. Damien Power, Chief Creative Officer at Brewer Media, the Eco Expo’s parent company, joins GoldToGreenTV.com to discuss the Eco Expo and its future.

Doubletree Hotel in downtown Chattanooga

Standing on Chestnut Street in downtown Chattanooga, the striking gold and maroon exterior of the Doubletree Hotel by Hilton belies its “green” oasis of environmental awareness. Inside this hotel and out, “doing the right thing” has defined nearly every decision in transforming this 35 year-old property into one of the city’s newest models for sustainable business. From guest rooms to conference halls to the hotel amenities, the Chattanooga Doubletree staff didn’t miss a beat.

Starting with energy, water, and waste reduction standards put in place by Hilton’s national office, Chattanooga Doubletree General Manager, Bill Mish, challenged his staff to do better, think creatively, and take action. The results? Not only is the hotel exceeding national standards and creating tangible results here at home but the staff has a new sense of pride and responsibility. Mr. Mish took a few minutes to speak with GreentoGoldTV.com about the Chattanooga Doubletree’s sustainability program.

Resources:

Chattanooga Doubletree “Green” Attributes

Observing Chattanooga’s progress in sustainable business practices is often associated with new and trendy companies and organizations. But on Lookout Mountain, Ruby Falls is proving what’s old can in fact be what’s new. For 80 years, this natural attraction never lost sight of its opportunities, challenges, and surroundings. During that time period, millions have descended Lookout Mountain with a better appreciation of natural resources and the responsibilities associated with protecting them. Ruby Falls was Eco-Tourism before there was Eco-Tourism.

What changed at Ruby Falls was embracing the ideal that your best green-self is a constant and never-ending process of trying to do better. Assisted by Dobbin Callahan of SkyeCon Consulting, Ruby Falls took an introspective look at every aspect of its operation with a process driven by its employees. Tougher questions were asked, standards raised, and ultimately accountability increased. Ruby Falls President, Hugh Morrow, recently took me on a tour of this amazing resource and discussed his team’s transformative process. (Thank you, Jim Frierson, for the great camera work. Resource links below.)

Ruby Falls – www.RubyFalls.com
Green Globe International – www.GreenGlobeInt.com
Eco-Tourism Society – www.ecotourism.org