Southwest Airlines joins with students on US coast-to-coast road tour to carry out conservation projects
Fri 2 Sept 2011 – Southwest Airlines has teamed up with the Student Conservation Association (SCA) on an initiative to support 40 conservation projects across the United States. During a summer-long tour that started in June, students from the SCA have been travelling in a custom-designed Southwest Airlines biodiesel bus (right) and joining Southwest employees and community members in 25 cities. A recent stop in New York included the cleaning of a lake trail and picking up rubbish at the Hempstead Lake State Park. The Conservation In Action Tour coincides with the airline’s 40th year of operations. SCA is a non-profit organisation that provides 15-25 year-olds with hands-on conservation service opportunities in all 50 US states, from urban communities to national parks and forests.
“This is the perfect way to celebrate our 40th anniversary,” said Southwest Airlines chief Gary Kelly. “Volunteering and giving back is something that our people do year round. It’s our way of saying thank you to the communities that have given so much to us.”
More than 500 employees from the airline have taken part in the conservation projects. Southwest says it helping SCA build the next generation of conservation leaders and its quest to protect and restore America’s parks, forests and urban green spaces.
“SCA is proud to join Southwest Airlines in spreading the word and the practice of hands-on conservation,” said SCA President Dale Penny. “These projects will generate immediate benefits to the communities we visit, and in the long term they will promote ongoing stewardship and sustainability.”