Earth Day April 22nd, 2009

 With all of the excitement around Earth Day and the 75th Anniversary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it has given me a moment to reflect on how the park has benefited me over the years.  I feel lucky to live so close and am able to enjoy what is in my back yard whether it has been to hike, swim or camp.  I realize that many people have to take vacation time to enjoy what I can each day and I am blessed to be able to see the mountains each morning on my way to work.  This morning they were crisp and almost seemed like they were superimposed.

In efforts to make my own personal strides to help the National Park I am trying to be more conscience of what I buy, use, and how I dispose of things.  Recently, I am trying to buy more products that are better for the environment and my health, I am working with my coworkers to recycle at the office and I have switched my bank account to the SmartGreen Account SmartBank is offering.

One of my favorite attributes of the account is the benefit to the Park without affecting my budget.  Everyone has a cause to promote these days and most of them are at the expense of the consumer such as: ‘donate $1 in addition to your bill to support____.’  This isn’t the case for the SmartGreen Account.  If I use my SmartBank Green Debit card as a signature- based transaction (I don’t enter my pin number; I would select the transaction as credit), SmartBank will make a donation to Friends of the Smoky Mountains National Park and Great Smoky Mountains Association for the National Park.

I plan look into other events that the Park is hosting to further enjoy and aid the park’s ongoing maintenance and education.

I can envision the Dwarf Irises, Bluettes and Trillium I saw last weekend in Greenbrier.  If you haven’t been in the Smokies in a while, this is a great time of year to see the wildflowers.