YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CALIF.—Delaware North Companies (DNC) Parks & Resorts at Yosemite president Dan Jensen recently led a community event and ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of a $1.15 million dollar eco-friendly remodel of the Village Store, which serves millions of park visitors annually. Attendees joining Jensen in the celebration included Yosemite National Park superintendent Don Neubacher, Tom Willey with T&D Willey Farms, Yosemite Valley students, Yosemite National Park visitors and community members. The event dedicated the newly refurbished store highlighting its 25 percent energy use reduction, sustainable design features and locally grown organic produce. This is one of the many ways DNC supports the National Park Service’s Healthy Parks, Healthy People initiative.
Eco-friendly renovation highlights include:
• New energy-efficient refrigeration—equivalent of removing between eight to 10 vehicles off the road yearly.
• Marmoleum flooring incorporated in the store is made with 97 percent of natural raw materials, 70 percent of which are rapidly renewable, along with a 40 percent recycled content. Marmoleum is biodegradable and can be fully recycled.
• Eco-friendly paint.
• Energy-efficient light fixtures were installed that are California Title 24 compliant.
• Produce moved upfront to promote healthier options to visitors and organic offerings were enhanced;
• New retail displays and grocery shelving—previous displays and shelving were repurposed for Curry Village and Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, which resulted in less renovation waste to the landfill.
• Upgraded store ventilation system, and DNC added R-19 batt insulation to reduce the need to heat and cool air.
• Reclaimed lighting from the store was installed in the backroom areas to improve lighting.
• DNC partnered with the National Park Service to install a new cooling tower featuring a closed recirculating loop to cool refrigeration units—saving 2,500 gallons of water per day and nearly 913,000 gallons of water a year.
“The Village Store remodel was a collaborative effort focusing on healthy options for Yosemite visitors and eco-friendly materials used in the design,” said DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite president Dan Jensen. “We are committed to taking great care of our guests and the environment, which is why this project is so meaningful to us.”
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