Chemours Washington Works | Decades of Conservation, Driven by Partnerships and Ambition

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From wavering employee interest to budget constraints, conservation programs can face many challenges as years go by. Forming the right partnerships and continually taking small steps toward big goals are, in these cases, keys to program longevity.  

Chemours operates a plant within Washington Works, a large plastics manufacturing facility shared with DuPont and Kuraray located outside Parkersburg, WV. Since 1988, employees and retirees from the three companies (known as the Washington Works Nature’s Environmental Support Team, or WW-NEST), have worked to support wildlife on company grounds through conservation and habitat enhancement projects across the 1,950-acre site. Four years later, the team achieved WHC Conservation Certification® for their efforts, and in the same year began to construct a trail system.  

Today, the Washington Works conservation program is Certified Gold and the trails serve as a venue for extensive environmental education and community outreach work that benefits both the company and the wide array of visitors that explore, study and volunteer time on-site. The Washington Works Nature Trails are open to the public and transect the site’s 65 acres of hardwood forest (which feature over 40 native tree species, including oak, maple and ash varieties), 18 acres of meadowland, a pond and a constructed vernal wetland.  

Chemours employees make up the largest share of WW-NEST volunteers and a retired technical fellow from Chemours, Dave Johnson, currently oversees the program. Dave began working with WW-NEST about 10 years into the team’s history, when they were focused on habitat conservation and enhancement. He explains that once these natural areas began to thrive, “It was clear that we could do more if we could engage the public in the outdoors. Seeing people walking the trails with their family or dogs in tow, avid birders and photographers at work, and classes on field trips inspires the WW-Nest Team to continue their efforts and to dream big.”  

While many community members explore the trails independently, WW-NEST also offers structured programming for local students and youth groups. The first field trip conducted at the site was for a local church’s reading camp. A Chemours employee who volunteered with the camp suggested that the children travel on-site to identify and research wildlife by using reference guides, providing participants with a hands-on, interdisciplinary way to exercise their reading skills. The event was well-received, and the church now returns each summer.  

WW-NEST soon expanded their offerings to local schools, who can either partake in docent-led field trips or develop their own lesson plans. Each year* about 180 first graders travel the trails to participate in activities like leaf collection, insect lifecycle lessons, and snake and frog observation; local high school students visit the site to conduct transect monitoring, GIS mapping, tree identification and water testing. Dave cites these field trips as one of WW-NEST’s greatest achievements, explaining that, “Developing partnerships with local teachers and schools has taken quite the effort, but the payback in seeing students’ enjoyment and engagement makes it worth the effort.” He adds that WW-NEST volunteers are typically eager to serve as field trip docents.   

While organizing volunteers for habitat construction and maintenance activities has been more challenging, the team has been able to accomplish these tasks through partnerships with local Scout troops. Cub and BSA Scouts regularly contribute to habitat enhancement tasks, including planting American holly trees and constructing bird and bat boxes.  

Since 2004, 10 Eagle Scout candidates have also completed their required service projects at Washington Works. Each of these projects, which are selected by individual Scouts after they learn about WW-NEST’s needs, have increased the accessibility of the site — information kiosks, bridges and benches have been added to public areas, and two Scouts reconstructed trails to make them wheelchair accessible through the use of compacted gravel. Dave says that “Getting involved with Scouting, particularly with Eagle Scout projects, has been a win-win for both parties. The Scouts provide planning, manpower and partial funding and WW-NEST collaborates on the planning and provides additional funding to achieve projects that would normally be beyond the scope that a Scout could achieve on his own.”  

Dave reflects that each addition to the program is “a step toward fulfilling the WW-NEST’s dreams.” Ultimately, the team would like to construct a classroom building and other educational facilities for school groups to utilize year-round. As a first step they hope to soon construct a shelter area for school groups so that field trips can proceed in inclement weather.  

He encourages other teams to likewise set lofty goals. “Don’t limit what you can do to what you think you can do,” he says, “and don’t prejudge what you will be allowed to do before you make the case for doing it.” WW-NEST was able to secure routine corporate funding for their program after demonstrating what they had accomplished using proceeds from site-level contributions. He also reinforces the importance of partnerships, stating that WW-NEST’s “partnerships with Scouting and schools allow achievements greater than what could be achieved through employee volunteer efforts alone.”  

Through this combination of ambition, strategy and collaboration, WW-NEST’s efforts have been sustained for over three decades and are primed to keep thriving.  

*Community engagement figures derived from 2018 (pre-pandemic) Certification application  

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CEMEX | To Know and Love Iguanas and Dry Forests – A Community-First Program to Create and Empower Conservationists

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For any community-oriented conservation program to succeed, participants need to develop an acute sense of local needs and respond accordingly. This becomes especially true when working with a community facing intractable challenges.  

Since 2000, CEMEX has held a lease with the Dominican government to operate a gypsum mine in Las Salinas, a town in the Barahona province of the Dominican Republic. The site is in the southwestern part of the country and within the La Florida-Las Salinas biological corridor, which extends from Barahona to the province of Independencia at the country’s western edge. Since 2013, CEMEX employees and partners have worked to restore local dry forest and wetland habitats to support the Hispaniolan slider turtle and two endangered species of rock iguana, the rhinoceros iguana and the Ricord’s iguana. These endemic reptiles face multiple threats, including poaching, overgrazing and habitat destruction caused by the construction of charcoal kilns in the forest. In response, the CEMEX team has conducted extensive outreach in the area, not only increasing awareness of these species’ plights, but also guiding community members toward more sustainable livelihoods.  

To carry out this work, CEMEX works closely with Grupo Jaragua, a nonprofit which serves as the BirdLife International partner in the Dominican Republic. Technical knowledge about reforestation is limited in the region, so Grupo Jaragua biologists have, using trial-and-error, developed their own approach, and they are currently testing goat-proofing methods to address the threat of overgrazing. The forested areas now feature trees like the gumbo-limbo and roughbark lignum-vitae, as well as native cacti. These species are well-adapted to the low levels of precipitation characteristic of the region, and therefore need no irrigation or pruning once they’ve established. Through mindful species selection and a dedication to adaptive management, the team has come to manage 36,077 acres of forest, located in two parts of the biological corridor.  

These forests, which feature loose soil and rocky areas, provide critical shelter and nesting ground for rock iguanas. To address the anthropogenic threats that these species face, the CEMEX-Grupo Jaragua team conducts targeted outreach. A team of community members has been trained to report evidence of hunting or charcoal kilns to authorities, helping to increase vigilance in remote, hard-to-monitor areas. Since most iguaneros (iguana hunters) are teens or young adults, the team has partnered with over 15 schools in the area, proactively conducting iguana-themed lessons for 7-to-12-year-olds. These lessons introduce youth to the concept of endemic species and their importance, and discuss the threats, including poaching and dry forest destruction, that local iguanas face.    

CEMEX and Grupo Jaragua also educate the public about the importance of forest and iguana conservation during environmental fairs, both in their area and in the Dominican capital of Santo Domingo. During these events, a team member dresses as the project mascot, Rina the Rhinoceros Iguana, and greets young attendees. Andrea Thomen, a project manager with Grupo Jaragua, says, “Rina has allowed us to make learning about reptiles entertaining and memorable. It is incredible to see a child’s reaction when they first see the costume.” Because of COVID-19, the team hasn’t been able to conduct in-person programming since Spring 2020, but they hope to resume later in Fall 2021, and meanwhile have remained dedicated to this outreach, pivoting to produce digital learning materials for area teachers.   

While increasing awareness has been a key component of their awareness campaign, the team has also addressed the socioeconomic factors that lead people into unsustainable professions. Andrea explains that “the development of alternative livelihoods is not easy for this region, given the high levels of poverty and lack of employment opportunities,” but that the team has promoted green jobs in the area, such as ecotourism and forestry work, as viable alternatives to unsustainable activities. In addition to the iguaneros, they have also worked with regional fishermen’s associations to dissuade fishers from hunting ducks and the endangered Hispaniolan slider turtles that live in the Laguna Cabral wetlands. About 70 households have participated in the alternative livelihoods program so far, performing paid reforestation work in the region, and community members interviewed for a recent documentary indicated that their attitudes toward wildlife have changed significantly.  

These successful restoration and education efforts have earned the program the Certified Silver level of WHC Conservation Certification®, and two WHC Awards: the 2018 WHC Reptiles and Amphibians Project Award and the 2021 WHC Forest Project Award. Dania Heredia, Legal & Sustainability Director for the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Haiti Cluster of CEMEX, says that these achievements demonstrate that “operating and conservation are activities that can coexist when they are legitimately believed in,” and notes that the team’s biodiversity efforts have strengthened the company’s relationship and engagement with the community and key stakeholders.  

Andrea attributes the success of the program to the team’s flexible, multi-faceted approach, stating that their efforts “continue to evolve and adapt to new challenges, obstacles and lessons learned.” Dania adds in that support from leadership is crucial. She has used the program’s success to encourage high-level involvement, emphasizing that “awareness and resources must come from executives and cascade down to employees” for conservation work to succeed.  

Moving forward, the CEMEX-Grupo Jaragua team plans to build on this success, continuing to transform their regional efforts into a countrywide campaign. They hope to integrate the Laguna Cabral wetland into national conservation programs, and to leverage the success of their forest and reptile conservation through the press and social media. Andrea says that, “we think that all Dominicans should know, love and aim to conserve iguanas and dry forests.” Given their dedication to addressing environmental issues at the root, and willingness to continuously grow the program, CEMEX and its partners are already making strides toward becoming national conservation leaders.  

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Vulcan Materials | Aligning Employee Interests with Conservation Objectives for Maximum Impact

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Employee volunteers are a crucial part of many conservation programs, contributing the ideas, labor and enthusiasm needed to keep projects going. It can be difficult, however, to convince staff members to volunteer their time when they are already occupied with their day-to-day job duties. The challenges of engaging staff often become more apparent as personnel changes occur over time, bringing in new employees who don’t have a sense of ownership in on-site conservation work.  

When the team at the Vulcan Materials Villa Rica Quarry in Georgia first implemented a conservation program in the 1990s, their work focused on birds. Wavering employee interest impacted the sustainability of this avian project, however, and the program’s WHC Conservation Certification® ultimately expired. In late 2018, the team began to work on a new initiative. This time around, they planned and implemented the program with an acute attention to employees’ interests, namely their passion for sustainable deer hunting. The revitalized conservation program achieved WHC Certification in 2020.  

The Villa Rica Quarry is located about 40 miles west of Atlanta on land that features an acre of forest with red oak, white oak and loblolly pine trees, as well as muscadine grapevines. The site has always been home to a robust deer population and many employees are avid hunters, so when the team reviewed project options, a deer management project was the clear choice. As this was the first deer project implemented in Vulcan’s Southeast Division, the team worked closely with WHC Consulting to ensure success.   

To ensure that deer have ample food, employees monitor trees and bushes located on-site and have provided additional forage sources. They originally planted two food plots (one by the on-site office building, the other by a pond) using vegetation like partridge peas. While the pond plantings did not survive, the office plot has flourished without any supplemental watering or weeding, and deer began visiting it right away. Deer and other animals are monitored monthly through a game camera within this plot. This use of technology helps employees complete monitoring in less time, making the project more accessible to them.   

Using timeframes established by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the team invites Vulcan employees with hunting permits to partake in annual deer harvests. Carol Landrum, Manager, Community & Government Relations for Vulcan’s Southeast Division, explains that this practice facilitates “monitoring of the property, proper controls on the deer population and continued interest in the program by our employees.” As deer are harvested, their sex, age and weight are recorded, in addition to males’ antler sizes and a general health assessment. As more data is collected, the team hopes to gain insights on the buck-to-doe ratio of their deer population and will use this information to shape their yearly harvesting guidelines.  

Carol helped to keep the project on-track during implementation and as the 2020 Certification deadline approached. This entailed close collaboration with two employees, Mike Watson, Plant Supervisor, and Michael Sullens, Quality Control Technician. Carol’s first task was working with Villa Rica leadership and employees to ensure that they had an interest in pursuing recertification, and that they had the bandwidth to meet the associated deadlines. Once employees pledged their support, Carol conducted quarterly check-in calls to ensure that the project was progressing and that the team was consistently recording the information needed for their certification application. Throughout the process, Carol was impressed by the team’s dedication, particularly given the challenges of the past year. “Despite tackling a new project and doing so during a global pandemic, the team stayed the course and achieved their goal,” she recalls. “We have found that our employees, when presented with clear goals and deadlines, will work to accomplish them, no matter the task.”  

Since achieving Certification, Carol and the Villa Rica team have continued expanding the project. In March 2021, the site team planted an orchard with six crabapple trees to provide additional food options for the deer. Moving forward, the team plans on continuing their regular check-ins to discuss ways to enhance the project and maintain its momentum.  

Thus far, the deer project has been a great fit for the team — Carol explains that “a deer management project is a good project for a team with a small workforce and limited resources.” She reinforces that it was important to align the project with employees’ passions. “Employees at a mining operation are fully engaged in their primary job and wildlife monitoring is not an easy duty to add to that. Getting their buy-in up front on a project in which they have an interest was key.” With a focus uniquely suited to the site and its employees, this mammal project is primed for success and longevity.

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Fidelity Investments | Large Scale Conservation through Employee Empowerment

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With a 525–acre campus featuring vast expanses of forest and grassland, the Fidelity Investments Corporate Office in Smithfield, RI lends itself to a multitude of conservation efforts — the site’s Certified Gold program features ten qualifying projects. Maintaining this many projects across such a vast property requires careful coordination and an active, empowered base of volunteers. The Fidelity team has accomplished this feat through proactive monitoring and robust employee outreach, efforts that helped them earn the WHC Gold Program of the Year Award in 2020.  

The property features 400 acres of contiguous forest, 20 acres of grasslands and an acre of pollinator garden habitat, which is maintained through comprehensive invasive species control. This land is home to animals like the eastern wild turkey, monarch butterfly, eastern bluebirds and tree swallows, and serves as a backdrop to three education projects centered on these species.  

Due to their scope, some of the projects require contractor maintenance and monitoring. Over 3,500 on-site trees (including red maple, eastern red cedar, common sassafras, scarlet oak and eastern white pine) have been tagged and logged into ArborScope software. Bartlett Tree Experts performs most of the tree maintenance (pruning, pest treatments, root invigoration, and removal of dead or damaged trees) and monitoring is performed by Brightview Landscaping Services.  

Because the large pollinator garden, which includes native plants like butterfly weed, swamp milkweed, goldenrod and purple coneflower alongside basking areas and water sources, receives daily maintenance, contractors likewise perform much of this work. The Fidelity team, however, has still found creative ways to keep employees engaged with this habitat. Food scraps from three campus kitchens are collected and composted for use in the garden, providing all staff with a low-effort way of contributing to soil health. During the summer, volunteer days are held one to three times a month, in which employees assist with plantings, transplants and the removal of invasive species like mugwort, multiflora rose, oriental bittersweet and burning bush. Engaging volunteers in the hand-pulling of these species allows for greater staff participation, while also eliminating the use of chemical herbicides. Fidelity also obtained a monitoring protocol from WHC in 2017, and since then, employees have collected butterfly data every few weeks throughout the spring, summer and early fall. Business units will frequently sign up for monitoring duties together, creating opportunities for teambuilding. Since 2017, employees have observed 107 butterflies representing 11 different species including monarchs, whose numbers have doubled.  

Central to Fidelity’s employee engagement practices is a dedication to proactively recruiting volunteers at tabling events and through internal communication outlets. Measures are taken to ensure that new volunteers are equipped with the resources they need to make meaningful contributions. Monitoring of the site’s 12 nest boxes was originally organized by one employee who was able to lead the task without a set protocol. When a new set of volunteers took charge of monitoring 2018, to make the process more accessible, the team developed monitoring logs that clearly delineated the type of data needed. By the following year, staff had access to a comprehensive monitoring log that aligned with NestWatch protocols, so that the data could be submitted to the citizen science group.  

Employees also have the chance to attend educational events throughout the year, like guided walks between the nest boxes, lessons on the local history of wild turkeys, and information sessions about the garden and how to get involved. Event attendees are quizzed on their ability to perform tasks like identifying the sex of a turkey, to ensure that volunteers will be able to capture useful brood data, which is submitted to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for use in statewide analyses of the turkey population. The quality of submitted monitoring data is also reviewed throughout the year to determine how well employees are applying lessons to fieldwork.  

The Fidelity Smithfield team continually looks for ways to improve their employee engagement, as well as the youth-oriented pollinator events they host each year. Plans for the near future include logging more of the site’s trees into ArborScope and developing best practices for deterring house wrens, which are native but known to destroy bluebird nests, from the nest boxes. With their commitment to recruiting volunteers and setting them up for success, the team is well-positioned to keep the already-sizable program growing.  

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Crestwood Midstream | Expediting Reclamation through Innovation, Corporate Support and Community Ties

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Reclamation is a complex task, requiring intensive planning that begins before a company even starts work in an area. Restoring land in a narrow timeframe, while meeting the expectations of the surrounding community, is even more challenging, but the team at Crestwood Midstream has readily risen to the occasion.

Crestwood’s grassland reclamation project is located on 16 acres along multiple pipeline rights-of-way (ROWs) in western North Dakota. The ROWs run through the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation (FBIR), inhabited by the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara (MHA) Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes, and the reclamation work included in the project is representative of practices Crestwood has adopted for pipeline construction throughout the reservation. The area features mixed prairie grasslands that wildlife, along with residents’ livestock, use for grazing. Permitting for ROWs through the reservation is handled by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), who estimates that successful reclamation is typically completed 3-5 years after construction disturbance. The Crestwood team, however, has been determined to shorten this window, often reducing the timeline for successful habitat reclamation to approximately two years.

Matt Comeaux, Crestwood’s Director of Environmental Services, oversees all aspects of pipeline construction: permitting, construction and post-construction compliance, and ultimately reclamation. He cites a multitude of benefits to completing reclamation at a quicker rate, from overall project lifecycle cost and labor reductions, to less risk of erosion, noxious weed infestations and greater biodiversity.

To expedite the process, the team has adopted a suite of best management practices. Before construction, topsoil depth surveys are performed. Noxious weed control is conducted prior to soil grading. During construction, the team actively manages topsoil and subsoil storage to minimize mixing, and uses robust erosion control devices to minimize soil loss and erosion. Once construction is complete, weed-free straw is incorporated into the topsoil for erosion control, water retention and soil nutrition.

Instead of the standard seed mix typically used for reservation reclamation projects, the team worked with consultants to create their own. Matt explains, “We look at coming up with the best seed mixes we can, consulting with experts from the NRCS, to incorporate species better adapted to disturbed soil scenarios.” In selecting plant species, the team takes care to include native forbs to increase the area’s biodiversity, wildflowers for pollinators and plants with cultural significance to the MHA Nation.  Stiff goldenrod, for instance, is used in antiseptic lotions and teas and provides forage for carpenter bees and livestock.

Many of the easements granted to the Crestwood team are not exclusive, meaning that grazing activities and travel across reclamation sites are common. While Matt notes that “it’s much more challenging to achieve successful reclamation” with the high activity, the team has found unique ways to attempt to minimize the impact. In one case, a landowner requested that the team build an access road through his property. Matt recalls, “The terrain was challenging, but we were able to incorporate the road into the reclamation design to make it as minimally impactful as possible.” The access road was constructed using local stone that forms at coal seams, and its design limited permanent disturbance within the construction ROW, allowing for better plant establishment on the rest of the property.

Crestwood’s connection with the community was further solidified by the contributions of one of their field employees, Christopher McLaughlin, a Senior Environmental Specialist and member of the MHA Nation. Before joining Crestwood, Christopher worked for the BIA as an Environmental Specialist, making him well versed in what regulators evaluate when siting and permitting oil and gas projects on FBIR. He now oversees much of the pipeline construction and reclamation in the area, capturing spatial data through Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and sending it back to Matt and the rest of the team at Crestwood’s Houston, TX headquarters. Matt notes that Christopher approaches reclamation with a “very high level of pride” and a sense of ownership in the work. The team’s level of investment and attention to data collection provided a streamlined path to WHC Conservation Certification®, and they are already planning for the next certification cycle.

This proactive mindset, and motivation to exceed minimum regulations, can be found at all levels of Crestwood leadership. Crestwood’s CEO seeks to be an ESG leader in the industry and has welcomed Matt and his team into board meetings to present site-level conservation work. Joanne Howard, Vice President of ESG, Sustainability and Corporate Communications, has worked to develop Crestwood’s ESG program from the ground-up. Aided by WHC’s unique expertise in corporate conservation strategies, she made biodiversity and land use a key focus of the company’s ESG approach. Recalling how Crestwood’s corporate culture smoothly facilitated collaboration, WHC Chief Operating Officer Josiane Bonneau says, “We learned so much and were impressed by the team’s commitment to the MHA Nation and the community at large. We left uplifted and excited to see more of their impact in the future.”

Crestwood has ambitious plans for the coming years. Joanne’s team is in the final year of a three-year strategy, and moving forward, they will complete a materiality assessment to develop a new set of goals. At the site level, the team looks forward to expanding on their already-thriving reclamation work. They plan to continue developing seed mix, sowing test plots under different conditions and are constantly working to perfect the timings of plantings, given North Dakota’s short growing season. They also want to evaluate potential Certification opportunities on their assets located in eastern Wyoming.

Matt’s advice to other teams with reclamation projects is to approach them with a sense of openness. “Don’t be scared to think outside the box,” he advises. “There are a lot of challenges in the field and you’re continually trying to improve upon your plans.” With dedication at all levels of operation, flexibility and a mindfulness for the unique landscape and community in which they operate, the Crestwood team is well on their way to becoming the industry leaders they aspire to be.

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Bacardi Bottling Corporation Jacksonville | Creativity, Flexibility and Resiliency in Conservation

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Bacardi’s operations have coexisted with wildlife since the company’s inception — the brand’s distinctive bat logo was inspired by the bats that lived in the rafters of the Santiago de Cuba distillery in which the Bacardi family first made, stored and aged their rum in the 1860s.   

Today, at the Bacardi Bottling Corporation site in Jacksonville, FL, spirits are produced and bottled on a 90-acre property that provides ample space for local wildlife. An on-site habitat is managed by a group of dedicated employees known as the Green Team, which since 2016 has been led by co-chairs Kara Bogden, Senior Beverage Scientist, R&D, and Eric Hearn, Environmental Health & Safety Site Coordinator. The team has always approached conservation with a sense of adaptability. This mindset proved invaluable in 2020 — when the COVID-19 pandemic led to canceled events and logistical challenges, the team found creative ways to continue with their work.   

At stake was a long-standing conservation program that has provided wildlife with quality habitat and has allowed the team to build a rapport with other employees and partners throughout North Florida. The program, which first achieved WHC Certification in 2013, contains 22 acres of native warm season grasses and wildflowers, a pollinator garden, and structures to attract bats and birds. This land once contained high-maintenance turf grass, but now supports local wildlife while also reducing on-site landscaping costs in a subtropical region where plants grow quickly for most of the year.  The Green Team partners with the Lubee Bat Conservancy in Gainesville, FL to construct the site’s bat houses. (The conservancy was founded by Luis F. Bacardi, who was the great-grandson of the company’s founder and passionate about bat conservation.) They also work with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Jacksonville Zoo on a long-term bat study that utilizes acoustic monitoring techniques. The avian project has likewise allowed the team to connect with the greater Jacksonville community, including local scouts who constructed boxes for eastern bluebirds. Monitoring has demonstrated an increase in bluebird fledglings over time, and on his walks throughout campus, Eric has been pleased to see more bluebirds year-round. 

The pollinator garden was originally in the back of the campus, but in response to employee enthusiasm, the team moved it to the front, and it’s now one of the first things employees and visitors see when they arrive on-site. The team leveraged the popularity of this pollinator work to creatively engage with employees throughout the pandemic.  

When the team had to cancel their large-scale annual Earth Day event, they instead distributed pollinator plant seeds to employees for them to plant at home. Bacardi employees live all around the Jacksonville area, as far as 40 miles away from the facility, so this activity has allowed the team to transform yards across the region into pollinator habitats and outdoor classrooms. “It was great,” Kara recalls, “People would stop us and talk about how their milkweed was growing and how excited their kids were to find chrysalises in their yard.”   

In November, the team invited employees to a socially distanced on-site planting event, resulting in a record turnout. The team attributes this to a desire to return to campus on the part of currently remote employees, and a newfound appreciation of nature overall.   

The pandemic not only shaped large-scale events, but also routine monitoring and maintenance. While plant operations kept going, many employees went at least partially remote, reducing the personnel free to assist on-site. Moreover, tasks are usually done in pairs, but became solo efforts per distancing regulations. The team was, however, determined to stay consistent with their work. For instance, they still performed nest monitoring on the same dates that this information has been collected in previous years, identifying an employee who was scheduled to be on-site on each date, and assigning the duty to them. While, as Eric notes, these tasks lost their social aspect this year, they instead offered employees a unique way to “break from work and get out in nature,” providing stress relief in a difficult time.  

Although they’ve had a trying year, the Green Team shows no signs of slowing down. They are in the process of installing satellite wildflower gardens along the pathway that leads from the parking lot to the site’s main building. The team was able to get these gardens funded through a wellness initiative, as they will benefit not only wildlife, but also employee morale. The team has also worked with the Duval Audubon Society, discussing ways to engage adult learners via on-site community events, which they hope to start hosting once the pandemic has subsided. As employees return to campus, Kara and Eric expect to see an influx of Green Team participants. As Kara notes, the pandemic has made people realize that “we are just a small part of this world,” and many have taken more time to stop and appreciate nature. The team looks forward to keeping this momentum going into 2021, and beyond. 

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Stellantis | Partners and Employees Create Habitat for Wetland Birds, Pollinators and More

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The Stellantis US Headquarters and Technology Center, also known as the Auburn Hills Complex sits on a 550-acres corporate campus in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It serves as the North American headquarters for Stellantis, as well as its main research and development facility. The campus buildings and test track are surrounded by natural wetlands, stormwater ponds, upland and floodplain forest and landscaped areas.

Located in the wetlands is a heron rookery, where over 25 pairs of great blue herons have nested since 2006. Stellantis works to limit human disturbance of the nesting birds, as this might cause them to abandon their nests. Efforts are also taken to control and filter stormwater runoff that might enter the wetlands to protect water quality for the herons and their prey. The wetlands are also the location of a recently-installed wood duck nest box, as well as a beaver dam.

There are numerous pollinator gardens, including one that is a certified Monarch Waystation installed near one of the ponds. Stellantis also partnered with the on-campus First Nations Resource Group to install a garden near the main cafeteria that features culturally-important plants such as the three sisters (corn, beans and squash) and medicinal herbs.

Partnerships with local conservation organizations and schools help make this program as successful as it is. One of Stellantis’ strongest partnerships is with Avondale High School. Avondale students have participated in multiple projects over the years: they helped plant one of the pollinator gardens, they constructed bat houses, they built insect hotels (along with students from another school, Bowers Academy). The students also participated in a competition about reducing carbon, with the best projects presented at that year’s Earth Day event. In addition, every year Stellantis helps the students learn about stream ecology through the Stream Leaders stream monitoring program. David Jump, Environmental Health and Safety Specialist, understands how working with students like this is valuable for not only raising awareness of conservation issues, but encouraging an interest in STEM fields as well: “I want to be able to show these young people what STEM is, how cool it really is, and maybe give them a push to come into something like it.”

Other local organizations also contribute a great deal to the program and its success. The Oakland Audubon Society helps conduct bird and butterfly surveys several times a year, and leads employee “nature strolls” during the annual Earth Day event. Trout Unlimited also mapped an on-site creek connected to the wetlands and released juvenile trout to promote healthy fish populations.

In addition to Stellantis’ robust partnerships, employees have a strong enthusiasm for the projects that keeps the program going strong. Tonya Hunter, an Ecologist with contractor Environmental Consulting & Technology, remarked how Stellantis employees are “very enthusiastic about the wildlife and very passionate and excited” about the conservation projects. After participating in a trial use of EchoMeter Touch 2 acoustic bat detectors with WHC and local partners, a small group of employees even purchased their own bat detectors and survey the site for bats after hours a few times each year.

When it comes to successful conservation programs, a combination of strong partnerships and enthusiastic employees is a great approach to create long-lasting, positive outcomes.

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Shell | Protecting Migratory Species in the Energy Corridor

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Off Interstate 10 in the Energy Corridor of Houston, Texas, lies a haven for pollinators and other wildlife along the migratory flyway. The Shell Oil Company’s Woodcreek Campus sits on 100 acres of land, with just under half of that boasting natural areas including wildflower gardens, a creek and a forested area.

With the rapid development (and paving over) of natural habitat in the Energy Corridor of West Houston, we feel that our campus plays an important role in the migratory success [of pollinators] –Laura Castle, External Relations Advisor – Environmental

The Woodcreek Campus has always been focused on keeping as much green space as possible, with design considerations for wildlife being an important factor since the property was acquired in 1978. When Shell Real Estate began to refurbish existing buildings and construct new ones, it made certain the construction was in line with conserving and restoring wildlife habitat on-site, and aimed to increase the accessibility of nature to its 6,000 employees.

The site’s employees tend to several conservation projects at Woodcreek Campus, which first achieved WHC Certification in 2010. They built a native pollinator garden that includes monarch-friendly plants such as milkweed, Gulf mulhy, Texas lantana and yellow bells. Steps were taken to protect hummingbirds with the installation of window screens during migratory season to reduce window collisions, along with moving flowering vegetation to open areas so the birds are not drawn near the buildings. Shell employees have also taken up actions to reduce human-snake interaction while remaining a no-kill facility, including relocating snakes found on site to the nearby Addicks Reservoir where suitable habitat exists, and human-snake interaction is less likely. Wildlife sightings and health of the habitats are monitored daily to make sure maintenance is not needed and the projects are meeting campus environmental goals.

Gina Flynn, Real Estate Services Manager at Woodcreek, says that employees are incredibly proud of the collection of projects on their site. With three different community engagement events a year, they certainly get that chance to educate and share their success. Woodcreek hosts Powering Conservation Day each year where employees and their children interact with Shell’s environmental partners and learn about the campus’s conservation initiatives. Environmental Awareness Day celebrates Earth Day each year and engages over 1,000 people in learning about the value of conservation in their business and encourages employees to become more involved in the efforts.  Flynn states, “We are proud that we get to tell our story in community engagement events. The positive response we get from our employees and environmental NGO partner attendees is energizing!”

In addition to engaging employees and families, the team at Woodcreek works closely with local schools. Over 30 second graders from a local elementary school are educated each year, meeting an important community need for science education. The students learn about the importance of butterflies as pollinators, Houston’s critical location in the Tri-Regional Monarch Flyway, and how Shell is working with national and local conservation groups to use milkweed and other native Texas plantings to increase the numbers of monarch butterflies passing through to and from Mexico.

The global pandemic has not stopped Woodcreek from achieving their conservation goals.  Although education and engagement events are not possible, Flynn states they continue to make capital improvements in their landscaping with conservation in mind. The team is also dedicated to continuing education about native landscaping and the importance of these habitats virtually, including encouraging employees to incorporate native landscaping in their personal gardens with the use of the WHC collaborative document: A Guide to Native Landscaping in the US.

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Atlantic Richfield | From Superfund to Super Habitat

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Engaging in conservation activities on corporate lands sometimes requires managing ongoing impacts of historical uses. For the Atlantic Richfield Dutchman site, located on 3,447 acres in the Upper Clark Fork River Basin of southwestern Montana, a legacy of past mining, smelting and overgrazing resulted in significant impacts to habitats and wildlife.

The Dutchman property is part of the Anaconda Smelter NPL Site, an area of 300 square miles impacted by nearly 100 years of historical copper smelting by the Anaconda Copper Mining Company. High arsenic levels in the soil caused by smelting required remedial action. Additionally, previous use of the property for grazing and breeding livestock had a detrimental impact on the site’s habitat and vegetative cover. Fortunately, Atlantic Richfield (a subsidiary of BP) has overcome the challenges posed by these impacts to transform the Dutchman site into a haven of grassland and wetland habitat used by wildlife and humans alike.

Ecological restoration began at the Dutchman site more than 30 years ago with the creation of a Functionally Effective Wetland Area, now 517 acres and the largest contiguous wetland habitat in the watershed. Through the years, further efforts have been made to address the site’s legacy of impacts, including native seeding, livestock and vehicle exclusion, invasive species management, erosion control and wildlife monitoring.

When describing the efforts Atlantic Richfield has made to exceed both wetland mitigation and remediation requirements on-site, team member Shannon Dunlap, Operations Project Manager, noted that, “What sets the Dutchman site apart is the rigorous monitoring Atlantic Richfield conducts year-round to monitor not only wetlands, but avian and mammal populations, invasive species, grassland vegetation and erosion.”

Field crews work with Go Bird Montana every year to inventory bird populations on-site and have so far observed over 120 species of birds from 35 different taxonomic families. These surveys have found evidence that several rare species and species of concern are breeding on-site. Atlantic Richfield is also investigating ways to implement more comprehensive monitoring that can better guide management efforts, such as the use of remote sensing technology or aerial spectral analysis by drones, or satellites to evaluate vegetative cover.

Not only are bird species thriving, but mammals are as well. Starting in 2008, Atlantic Richfield began restricting vehicle access and installing wildlife-friendly fencing, which restricts cattle access to the site while allowing wildlife to cross safely. These measures have permitted the grassland and wetland vegetation to flourish, benefitting numerous bird and mammal species, including deer and other big game, swallows, sparrows, chickadees, hawks, and waterfowl.

Atlantic Richfield makes a special effort to maintain the property as a public recreation area, offering features such as trails, educational kiosks and bird watching checklists to encourage the visitors to enjoy the site’s natural beauty. Atlantic Richfield also works closely with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks to offer sustainable hunting opportunities to the community, which helps ensure that herds of elk, white-tailed deer, mule deer and moose continue to remain healthy and do not over-browse the habitat. Dunlap articulated that despite the difficulties in allowing public access, “it is a rewarding challenge to balance habitat preservation and public access at the site.”

The Dutchman site demonstrates how with time and commitment, a previously impacted landscape can become a thriving asset to both wildlife and the community.

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IBM | Continuous Improvement of a 20-year Program in North Carolina

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Research Triangle Park (RTP) in Durham and Wake Counties, North Carolina is the largest research park in the United States and a premier global innovation center. Its 7,000 acres house hundreds of companies, including IBM, who arrived in RTP in 1965.

For nearly 20 years, employee volunteers at IBM Research Triangle Park have worked to transform a 579-acre outdoor space into a haven for wildlife including bluebirds, owls, wood ducks, butterflies and reptiles. The conservation program at the facility focuses on employee interest and engagement while also supporting IBM’s long-standing environmental policy and programs . Approximately 350 volunteers oversee a wide range of projects, including nest boxes for avian species, butterfly gardens, stream clean-ups, and a reptile basking platform.

Program volunteers have a long history of engaging with the community. They partnered with Eagle Scouts to build a self-guided, interpretive nature trail with guideposts identifying species encountered on the trail and developed a community garden in an 880-square-foot space between two buildings. The garden provides an opportunity for employees to tend to the garden and harvest fresh vegetables, and enhances biodiversity by providing a food source for pollinators. Employees also worked with the local Boy Scouts to sink approximately 20 employee-donated Christmas trees into the site’s 3-acre pond to improve the fish habitat.

During nesting season, employees help monitor approximately 30 bluebird houses. Stuart Hurwitz, an environmental engineer at IBM Research Triangle Park, says the bluebird boxes monitoring program is the longest running and best supported program at the site.

“It generally involves the greatest number of employees and provides a welcome break to get out of the office and spend some time outside,” said Hurwitz.  “There is nothing better than monitoring the boxes and observing the new hatchlings.”

IBM also hosts an annual joint celebration of Earth Day and Take Your Child to Work Day, drawing approximately 300-400 school students and their parents a year, from IBM families as well as some local schools. Activities have highlighted topics such as astronomy, beekeeping, biking, car-pooling, hiking/camping, gardening, farm life, fishing, Scouting, State Parks, well-being and nature. In addition, they have conducted guided nature walks at their site’s recreation center.

The team at IBM RTP are continuously seeking new ways to increase employee engagement, education and community outreach programs. They would also like to increase the number of bird houses on site as well as potentially add a few beehives.

Hurwitz says it’s the employees that volunteer their time and effort that make the program special. “They do it because they are passionate about their support of environmental programs and doing the right thing,” he said. “While each employee has interests in different individual programs, the group as a whole contributes to an overall program rich in environmental conservation diversity.”

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