ARLINGTON, Va. — Earth Treks Crystal City prides itself as a rock climbing outlet for people living in a metropolitan area and the business in northern Virginia hopes its roots in rock climbing can bring forward better environmental practices.
The cavernous building that Earth Treks is located at leads you down to multiple rock climbing walls, a gym and a yoga studio. It's all a part of the business that opened in 2016 on S Clark Street in Arlington, Virginia's Crystal City area.
People that join Earth Treks not only want to climb but also be a part of a community that makes a positive impact.
Earth Treks does this by providing recycling areas, environmentally friendly alternatives and trying to run a greener business when it's able to do so.
"Many of us are action sport, outdoor adventurers. And so protecting the environment is part of what we all care about," said Nick Gava, Director of Earth Treks Crystal City.
Earth Treks announced recently its partnership with a Virginia company that allows its climbers to bring in old and rundown equipment — shoes, water bottles and harnesses — which will be reused in a variety of ways, including to make dog harnesses for cute pups.
Rock climbing has grown in popularity recently since its introduction to the 2020 Olympics. Gyms like Earth Treks have benefited from more people seeing a niche sport on television worldwide.
What Earth Treks is doing to create better environmentally friendly impacts in rock climbing is crucial. Some environmentalists are worried that the growth of the sport could cause direct or indirect damage to the environment, according to Rock Climbing Central.
To learn about the good works of Earth Treks and how their work makes positive impacts on the environment, click here.
