We took our climate change initiative on the road – and after two years and thousands of miles, the bus has retired.

Creating a Climate for Change Tour was designed to raise awareness of outdoor education and alternative energy, made possible by our sponsorship of the National Outdoor Leadership School’s (NOLS) traveling program. Running on recycled vegetable oil the bus traveled the country, carrying our environmental message and lots of Stonyfield yogurt and smoothies.

That yogurt was kept cold by onboard refrigerators operated by – what else? Solar power! And the NOLS bus itself featured a converted diesel engine designed to run on recycled vegetable oil (RVO) a cleaner, renewable alternative to petroleum. The bus refilled its supply at restaurants and dining halls along the way.

“Stonyfield Farm and NOLS share a number of values, including a strong environmental ethic and a belief in the power of education to create change. What better places to visit than our nation’s college campuses, where students are ready to tackle the issues that will impact their futures. After all, we’re talking about saving the planet that they’ll inherit.”
–Gary Hirshberg

Visitors were able to practice their climbing skills on the bus’ bouldering wall, learn about NOLS programs, perfect their fly fishing cast, and learn about Leave No Trace outdoor ethics. They also learned all about the bus’ fuel source and the new solar-power system that ran the on-board refrigerators.

About NOLS
Founded in 1965 by legendary mountaineer Paul Petzoldt, the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is the leader in wilderness education and sets the industry standard for responsible, high-quality educational expeditions. NOLS provides an awe-inspiring, transformative experience that develops active, positive leaders with lifelong environmental ethics and outdoor skills to more than 10,000 students each year. A private non-profit school, NOLS runs 10-day to school-year-length courses on four continents. NOLS students, ages 14 to over 70, explore the most remote wilderness the Rocky Mountains, Idaho, Pacific Northwest, Southwest, Alaska, Western Canada, Mexico, Patagonia (Chile), India, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, and Baffin Island have to offer. For more information, visit www.nols.edu.