Our Commitment to Real Change

Recently ResponsibleTravel.com, a leading world wide travel agent, made the decision to abandon their Carbon offset program sighting the importance of making real changes rather than purchasing offsets. Years ago Holiday Expeditions opted not to follow the popular “offset” trend, but rather to champion the individual and the company’s creativity and willingness to change. True change can only happen through the act of reducing and reusing in your day to day practices.

Our rafting and biking trip guests get to see and experience the examples of our efforts to make real change when they meet us at our headquarters in Green River and Vernal, UT. This summer we installed a new rain gutter system to increase efforts to capture rain water for grey water use. We already had one grey water system in place but saw this as yet one more opportunity to conserve and cut back on traditional, local water consumption. Overall water use was cut by 8% in a year that we actually did more business. Water wise native landscaping, making our own ice efficiently, more infrequent van washing and new front load water saving washing machines are also included in our everyday efforts. The challenge is on going but we feel we’re up to it and making real changes one step at a time.

Supporting Local Farmers

Crenshaw, Canary, Ogen, Israeli and Rocky Sweet are a few of the more obscure melons you’ll find in the Melon capital of the world….Green River, Utah. Holiday Expeditions supports and buys local from Dunham Melons and Green River Produce from the time the annual harvest begins. Last weekend locals celebrated Melon Days, a small town cultural event, complete with the crowning the 2008 Melon Days Queen. A parade, square dancing, softball, live music and all you can eat melon.

“Going on one of your trips is like taking Melon 101” – Garret Rose, SLC UT

At Holiday Expeditions we’ve had the fortune to have Kelly Dunham of the Dunham Melon Farm working for us for almost 25 years. Love of the land runs deep in the Dunham family blood. Kelly and her husband Rick have now branched off and started Green River Produce, a local organic farm. Several of our Colorado River rafting trips meet at our Green River, Utah headquarters and our guests reap the benefit of this local, delicious gift from the earth and waters of the Green River. Anyone who has had a Green River melon will tell you there is nothing else like it. Believers in buying local whenever we can, we also purchase our coffee from the Green River Coffee company. By Karen Johnson