Florida State Parks Foundation, Cannondale and REI Winter Park collaborate to provide e-bikes for Florida State Parks

Twenty-five new e-bikes will provide ease of transportation and reduce parks’ environmental impact

CLERMONT, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES, July 10, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Florida State Parks Foundation, Cannondale Bicycle Corporation and REI Co-op’s Winter Park store today announced a collaboration to provide Cannondale e-bikes for use by Florida State Parks rangers during a press conference at Lake Louisa State Park.

Through this collaboration, believed to be the first of its kind among America’s state parks systems, Florida State Parks will receive 25 Cannondale Tesoro Neo X 3 e-bikes for use by park rangers across the state. (Full park list below.)

REI’s Winter Park certified bike shop mechanics assembled the e-bikes in late June in preparation for use by park staff.

“Everything about this effort aligns with the Foundation’s mission to preserve, protect, sustain and grow our state parks” Foundation CEO Julia Gill Woodward said. “Providing e-bikes to state parks supports our devoted rangers in their day-to-day tasks, reduces our parks’ environmental footprint and is the result of a collaboration with two leaders in the outdoor recreation community.

“Cannondale and REI Co-op are the most respected names in their fields, and we are so excited that they have put such significant and generous support behind our state parks.”

Today’s announcement marked the latest development in the Foundation’s Greener Initiative, a campaign to encourage environmental sustainability in state parks.

Previous Greener Initiative projects have included:

144 water bottle refilling stations across 98 state parks and trails.
More than 700 energy-efficient LED lighting fixtures and bulbs.
The “Great Blue Heron” hybrid-electric river tour boat at Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park.
Greener Initiative projects are funded through the generosity of community partners, such as REI Co-op and Cannondale, and through the sales of the “Explore Our State Parks” specialty license plate.

In two years of availability, the “Explore Our State Parks” plate has generated more than $675,000 for the benefit of Florida’s state parks. Each e-bike is equipped with a bike-sized replica plate.

“Our Greener Initiative has been an overwhelming success, and we are grateful to have Cannondale and REI joining us for this latest Greener milestone,” said Kathleen Brennan, president of the Foundation’s board of directors. “Park rangers do amazing work every day, and we are proud to support them through this partnership.”

“We are thankful for the Foundation, Cannondale and REI’s support of our state parks,” Florida State Parks Director Chuck Hatcher said. “These e-bikes will be useful for all aspects of a park ranger’s job, including resource management, visitor services and park maintenance.”

Parks to receive e-bikes:

Northwest Florida:

Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park (Wakulla Springs)
Alfred B. Maclay Gardens State Park (Tallahassee)
Topsail Hill Preserve State Park (Santa Rosa Beach)
Blackwater Heritage State Trail (Milton)
Tallahassee St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail (Crawfordville)

North Central Florida:

Nature Coast State Trail (Fanning Springs)
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park/Gainesville Hawthorne State Trail (Micanopy)
San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park (Alachua)
Ichetucknee Springs State Park (Fort White)
Little Talbot Island State Park (Jacksonville)

Central Florida:

Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway (Ocala)
Wekiwa Springs State Park (Apopka)
Lake Kissimmee State Park (Lake Wales)
Lake Louisa State Park/General James A. Van Fleet State Trail (Clermont)
Tomoka State Park (Ormond Beach)

Southwest Florida:

Alafia River State Park (Lithia)
Collier-Seminole State Park (Naples)
Koreshan State Park (Estero)
Hillsborough River State Park (Thonotosassa)
Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park (Copeland)

Southeast Florida:

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park (Key West)
Oleta River State Park (North Miami Beach)
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park (Fort Lauderdale)
Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park (Key Biscayne)
Bahia Honda State Park (Big Pine Key)

Tim Linafelt
Florida State Parks Foundation
+1 8505598914
email us here