Yellowstone National Park is renowned for its exquisite wildlife and magnificent naturally occurring hot springs, geysers, fumaroles, and mud pots. As one of the world’s most popular National Parks, Yellowstone gives rangers and environmental scientists an opportunity to educate visitors on the wonders of nature, while also making a strong case for sustainability and the importance of environmental preservation. So how does Toyota and Toyota of Plano fit into all of this? Toyota’s relationship with Yellowstone began with four Priuses donated to the park in 2004, and this relationship has since blossomed into a partnership focused on accessibility, sustainability, and education. Join Toyota of Plano as we take a closer look at the relationship between Toyota Motor North America(TWNA) and Yellowstone National Park.
While the four hybrid vehicles may have seemed like a small gesture, they made a significant impact by helping to support visitor services and reduce the overall environmental footprint within the park. According to Kevin Butt, Chair of Yellowstone Forever and Senior Director of Environmental Sustainability for TMNA, the Priuses also had a third, much more unexpected benefit: they helped to raise environmental awareness. Ultimately Toyota’s goal was to positively contribute to Yellowstone’s energy efficiency, but the vehicles ended up becoming an efficient marketing tool for hybrid technology and the car manufacturer’s hybrid vehicle. After the success of Toyota’s initial donation, Toyota wrapped and donated several other vehicles including hybrid Camrys and Highlanders - once those vehicles had begun production. From there Toyota and Yellowstone National Park were linked in an effort to promote environmental sustainability and education on the subject.
Lisa Diekmann, the President and CEO of Yellowstone Forever, commented on Toyota’s impact on the National Park by saying “Toyota’s extensive work to improve the sustainability of Yellowstone’s facilities, transportation and overall operations has played a significant role in sustaining the park’s ecosystem and reducing its emissions”.
Let’s take a look at some of the major milestones of this partnership:
In 2004, four Priuses were donated to Yellowstone National Park.
In 2010, just 6 years after Yellowstone and Toyota’s relationship began, Toyota helped to redesign the Yellowstone Old Faithful Visitor Education Center. Later that year, Toyota donated $1 million toward the construction of the Yellowstone center.
In 2011, Toyota donated another $1 million towards the construction of a facility that would eventually house the youth center used to educate future conservationists and help shrink the Youth Campus’ environmental footprint.
Beginning in 2022, Toyota engineers started working with Yellowstone to upgrade lighting across the park to LED lights. This is a part of the ongoing project to replace less efficient technology in the park, with energy-saving alternatives. While this may seem minor, making the switch to LED lights can significantly improve energy consumption.
In June of this year, after an unprecedented amount of rainfall destroyed many of Yellowstone’s roads and other important infrastructure, Toyota stepped in to help rebuild several sections of the national park and raise awareness of the challenges that the park continues to face. Toyota also donated to the resiliency fund and encouraged other corporate donors to follow in their footsteps.
While Toyota has invested a lot of time and money into improving Yellowstone’s infrastructure, this collaboration is entirely mutually beneficial. Toyota benefits from the vast amount of sustainability knowledge that the National Park’s employees share with Toyota Engineers. In addition to valuable knowledge, Yellowstone challenges TWNA to consider long term sustainability in a different way.
Preservation of national parks is a huge step in helping to maintain natural ecosystems. Toyota of Plano is proud to represent a company that is involved in multiple efforts to ensure that our grandchildren and their children are able to appreciate the wildlife and ecosystems that we often take for granted.
Visit Toyota of Plano today, and ask about our new line up of Toyota vehicles - many of which boast impressive fuel economy and exceed environmental standards. Toyota of Plano as a flagship and high volume Toyota dealership, has access to a higher quantity of new vehicles. You can find everything from the more environmentally conscious 2022 Toyota Pruis to the 2022 Toyota Sienna, an iconic family car. Plus Toyota is introducing four redesigned electric vehicles to our 2023 electric line up - the 2023 Corolla Hybrid, 2023 Corolla Cross Hybrid, 2023 Toyota Crown, and the highly anticipated all new 2023 bZ4X! We are fortunate to also house one of the best selections of used vehicles in the DFW area. Plus you can be confident when you choose Toyota of Plano because all our used and new vehicles are inspected and certified on-site by our expert Toyota of Plano technicians. Your dream car is just down the road at Toyota of Plano!
