Our Commitment to Sustainability
About Us
We are a small, woman-owned, community-minded, sustainable business. We are local biologists, naturalists, and educators offering wildlife watching trips, day hikes, multi-day backpacking trips, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, as well as custom trips in Yellowstone National Park. We operate year-round out of Yellowstone’s north entrance in Gardiner, Montana.
Sustainable practices
● We minimize energy consumption by using smaller vehicles for smaller groups, never idling vehicles in parking areas or pullouts, and buying locally in Gardiner MT.
● We are in the process of purchasing a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) for use on our wildlife watching and custom tours. We look forward to becoming Yellowstone’s first zero emissions guide service.
● To help minimize emissions and noise pollution, we always turn off our vehicles in parking areas or pullouts.
● Housing with solar-generated electricity is provided for our guides. Refrigeration and office space is also running on solar energy.
● At the office site, we are conducting conservation efforts to help eradicate invasive plant species, such as cheat grass, and to encourage native species, like sagebrush and native wildflowers.
● We minimize the use of plastics and packaging as much as possible while maintaining safe food storage and handling. We use reusable cups, plates, and cutlery to minimize waste going to the landfill, and we recycle as much as possible.
● We encourage our clients to bring their own reusable water bottles, and we provide local water for refills in the field.
● Our business cards are printed at Printing For Less, a local wind- and solar-powered printing company in Livingston MT.
Community Involvement
● Cara McGary, In Our Nature’s owner, initiated a guides’ association to encourage better communication and cooperation within our community.
● The locally made baked goods and bagged lunches that are served on our tours are prepared by the Yellowstone Grill in Gardiner MT.
● Our high-quality Swarovski spotting scopes were purchased from Gardiner-based Swarovski dealer Optics Yellowstone.
● Soon we will be offering new In Our Nature merchandise from local sources, including binocular and camera straps that are locally handmade, as well as sweatshirts and hats that are made in the USA and printed in Bozeman MT at Montana State University’s printing office, Blank Canvas.
● We donate tours for fundraising auctions to benefit environmental and educational NGOs, wildlife sanctuaries, and our natural history museum. One year, we supported our local school's foundation (North Yellowstone Education Foundation) by paying for its liability insurance for an annual fundraising event.
● In Our Nature Guiding Services organizes the annual Pick-Up Your Park event in October to help clean up after the busy summer season, and before the heavy snowfall of winter. Join us if you can!
