Idaho National Laboratory employees pick up trash along the River Walk in Idaho Falls. The lab’s Net-Zero team co-hosted the volunteer cleanup to draw attention to INL’s goal of eliminating or offsetting the entirety its greenhouse gas emissions by 2031.
Idaho National Laboratory employees Amanda Birch, left, and Samuel Dixon pick up trash along the River Walk in Idaho Falls.
courtesy Idaho National Laboratory
Idaho National Laboratory employees pick up trash along the River Walk in Idaho Falls. The lab’s Net-Zero team co-hosted the volunteer cleanup to draw attention to INL’s goal of eliminating or offsetting the entirety its greenhouse gas emissions by 2031.
A group of 30 volunteers from the Idaho National Laboratory and the city of Idaho Falls helped to beautify a commuter path along the Idaho Falls River Walk — Greenbelt Trail as part of their October River Walk Cleanup.
“The River Walk cleanup is an example of leaning into laboratory culture and values to care for our community,” said Misty Benjamin, the laboratory’s community relations and philanthropic program manager in a news release. “We’re proud to take care of such an important biking and walking path for Idaho Falls residents, including many INL employees.”
Laboratory employees and their families spent hours removing trash and worked together to clean a popular commuter and recreation pathway along the river.
Laboratory officials, in collaboration with their Net-Zero Program, co-hosted the service event and cleanup started at Russ Freeman Park and extended to the U.S. Highway 20 bridge, the release said.
The Net-Zero team is working with the laboratory and co-hosted the event in order to draw attention to the laboratory’s goal of eliminating or offsetting the entirety of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2031.
“The River Walk cleanup helps to draw attention to easy and attractive options for community members, including INL employees, who bike or walk to work,” said Jhansi Kandasamy, Idaho National Laboratory’s Net-Zero Program director, in the release. “The work the city is doing to increase walkability in Idaho Falls shows how important collaboration is to attaining our net-zero goal.”
Laboratory officials along with the Net-Zero team are hoping that cleaner commuter paths will promote employee usage by supporting low-carbon and carbon-free commuting.
The city of Idaho Falls’ Parks and Recreation Department also participated in the cleanup by providing trash bags, snacks, water, trash pickers and trucks to transport all trash and debris collected throughout the day to the dump.
City officials have been working to increase Idaho Falls’ walkability score and the Idaho Falls River Walk has been a central component in meeting that goal. The city recognizes that whether or not a city is walkable can determine local business success as well as residents’ willingness to adopt healthier habits. The walkability score is one method used to measure how well pedestrians can traverse a city.
Idaho Falls places second in the state only to Moscow, with a walkability score of 42/100 and a biking score of 49/100, according to the Walk Score website, walkscore.com/ID/.
Along with beautification of the city, laboratory officials have many goals they hope will lead to a final goal of offsetting just as much greenhouse gas as they are emitting into the air.
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