Tag Archive for: habitat

White Paper | Trees at Work | Driving Conservation, Equity and Empowerment through Urban and Community Forestry

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BETHESDA, MD, March 3, 2022 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) offers a new white paper available for download today, Trees at Work | Driving Conservation, Equity and Empowerment through Urban and Community Forestry (UCF). The white paper is sponsored by Ontario Power Generation and is available for free on our website.

This white paper serves as an extension of the WHC Across Fence Lines initiative, a U.S. Forest Service-funded effort focused on engaging corporations in a best-in-class, community-centered approach to urban and community forestry.  

A Prime Opportunity for Corporate Conservation

Trees in urban and suburban settings are increasingly being seen as critical infrastructure, bringing a variety of positive benefits to a rapidly urbanizing world. At the same time, people in the U.S. and other parts of the world are seeking solutions to the ongoing climate and biodiversity crises, and addressing long-overdue matters of socioeconomic and racial inequity that have disproportionately placed these environmental burdens on poor communities and communities of color.

This white paper explores some of the many ways that corporations around the world have utilized community forestry work to provide biodiversity uplift, ecosystem services and resident empowerment within a wide range of communities, as well as how strategic UCF projects can serve all three purposes. While the goals, environmental needs, and geographic and socioeconomic contexts of the following featured case studies vary greatly, a number of common practices — close attention to tree selection, awareness of local soil conditions, an interest in forming partnerships, a reverence for local community needs and a commitment to maintenance for long-term success — arise throughout.

Case Studies:

  • Stellantis: Stellantis Etobicoke Casting, Ontario, Canada
  • Bayer: Camaçari Site, Camaçari, Brazil
  • Waste Management: Waste Management-Michelin Campground Natural Area, Kentucky, U.S.A.
  • Kinder Morgan: Hartford Street Terminal, Florida, U.S.A.
  • Bridgestone: Aiken County Off Road Tire Plant, South Carolina, U.S.A.
  • Buzzi Unicem: Hercules Cement Company, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
  • CEMEX: Barahona Site, Barahona, Dominican Republic
  • General Motors: Colmotores Plant, Bogotá, Colombia
  • DuPont: Experimental Station Laboratories, Delaware, U.S.A.
  • Marathon: Detroit Refinery, Michigan, U.S.A.

Sponsored by Ontario Power Generation, this white paper includes an introduction from Aaron Del Pino, Vice-President – Environment, Health & Safety, Ontario Power Generation, who states, “Trees, shrubs, and forest habitats mitigate the effects of climate change and are critical to supporting biodiversity by providing food and shelter for a variety of wildlife.”  

About Wildlife Habitat Council: 

For 33 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries. 

New White Paper: WHC White Paper Supporting the Global Pollinator Population through Local Action

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SILVER SPRING, MD, JUNE 23, 2021 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) offers a new white paper available for download today, Supporting the Global Pollinator Population Through Local Action. The white paper is sponsored by BASF and is available for free on our website.  

This publication serves as an extension of the 2016 WHC white paper, Prioritizing Pollinators in Corporate America: How Companies Can Align Their Business Needs with the National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators. The new release provides an update on the prior publication’s focal species (bees and butterflies in the U.S.), while also exploring the conservation efforts of companies around the world, as well as efforts that focus on lesser-known pollinators like moths, nectivorous bats, hummingbirds and beetles.  

In the time since Prioritizing Pollinators in Corporate America was published, the need to support the world’s pollinators has, in many ways, grown more dire, as evidenced by the declining numbers indicated in recent monarch butterfly counts and studies on bee populations. As pollinators are key to global biodiversity, food security and economic prosperity, it is critical to reverse these losses now.  

Fortunately, pollinator conservation can be conducted on properties of any size, and in every geographic region. Pollinator projects are, therefore, one of the most accessible and popular forms of corporate conservation, and companies worldwide are taking local action to rectify this global issue. Featured case studies include:   

  • Covia: Planta Lampazos – Nuevo León, Mexico 
  • DTE Energy: Washington-10 Compressor Station – Michigan, U.S.A 
  • ExxonMobil: ElectroPhos – Florida, U.S.A 
  • Freeport-McMoRan: Copper Queen Branch – Arizona, U.S.A 
  • General Motors: GM Powertrain Uzbekistan – Tashkent, Uzbekistan  
  • ITC Holdings: ITC Transmission Line Right-of-Way at Chippewa Nature Center – Michigan, U.S.A 
  • Marathon Petroleum Corporation: Galveston Bay Refinery – Texas, U.S.A 
  • Waste Management: Kirby Canyon Recycling and Disposal Facility – California, U.S.A 

Sponsored by BASF, this white paper includes a forward from the company which states, “Together, with the Wildlife Habitat Council and its member companies, BASF is transforming its dedication to wildlife stewardship and habitat enhancement into sustainable programs. We will continue to support this important work and encourage our employees, community volunteers and like-minded companies to do the same.” 

About Wildlife Habitat Council: 

For 33 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries. 

Wildlife Habitat Council Receives U.S. Forest Service Funding to Support Urban and Community Forestry Partnerships

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SILVER SPRING, MD, September 8, 2020 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) was awarded a grant from the USDA Forest Service as part of its 2020 Urban and Community Forestry Challenge Cost Share Grant Program.

This grant will fund WHC’s new initiative, Across Fence Lines: Connecting Corporate America to Communities through Public-Private Forestry Programs. The initiative will focus on a best-in-class approach connecting corporate conservation, urban forestry groups, community members/leaders and employees to local, state and national canopy and forestry goals, addressing local resiliency challenges and providing workforce development opportunities and biodiversity uplift.

“With the support of U.S. Forest Service, we will be able to fill a significant resource gap to better connect the private sector to community forestry initiatives,” said Margaret O’Gorman, President, WHC. “This program also addresses the specific needs of high potential communities where impactful industries are historically located.”

The program will draw on existing community forestry efforts and WHC’s more than three decades of experience connecting corporate and community groups for voluntary conservation efforts Across Fence Lines is the latest of our on-the-ground efforts to bring about tangible, climate change adaptation actions to urban-industrial communities. New urban forestry connections will also contribute knowledge to the project.

WHC will partner with corporations such as Praxair, NiSource, Arcelor Mittal, Freeport McMoRan, FCA and Marathon Petroleum to study existing corporate community forestry efforts and design new connections. WHC will engage Davey Institute, Student Conservation Association and the Greening of Detroit as knowledge partners to help identify best practices and consider the unique challenges and opportunities of working in urban-industrial lands.

Other recipients of the 2020 National Urban and Community Forestry Grants for Creating and Enhancing Resilient Urban and Community Forests: University of Maryland, North Carolina State University, Sustainable Resources Institute/Urban Wood Network, University of Tennessee, The Giving Grove.

For more information about how WHC can help support a wide spectrum of corporate conservation activities please contact whcconsulting@wildlifehc.org.

About Wildlife Habitat Council

For 30 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries.

About the Grant

https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/urban-forests/ucf/2020-nufrigp

New White Paper Small Scales, Big Impacts

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SILVER SPRING, MD, August 26, 2020 – Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) offers a new white paper available for download today, Small Scales, Big Impacts – How conservation makes positive impacts for biodiversity and community awareness despite limitations related to the amount of land, number of employees or the size of managed species. The white paper is sponsored by Toyota North America and is available for free on our website.

In traditional conservation models, large budgets are considered essential for  significant conservation outcomes. This theory also requires large workforces to support meaningful employee or community engagement efforts. However, creative thinking and a working knowledge of conservation context can challenge these notions by enabling projects with positive biodiversity and business outcomes with realistic budget and personnel requirements.

This white paper explores what it means to work on a small scale for a big impact for nature. Highlighted projects show that healthy and productive habitats can be managed with small budgets, teams, land or species, including:

Argos: Newberry Plant
Aristeo Construction: Detroit Headquarters
CRH Americas: Acton Quarry
Exelon: Quad Cities Generation Station
Freeport-McMoRan: Port Nickel
General Motors: Lockport Facility
ITC: ITC Iowa City Warehouse
Phillips 66: Habitat and Conservation Education Initiative

Sponsored by Toyota North America, this white paper includes a forward by Kevin Butt Senior Director, Environmental Sustainability, in which he states, “Toyota’s Challenge 2050 seeks to establish a future society in harmony with nature. To do this, we are committing to planting forests around factories and connecting nature conservation to the education of children. Both of these approaches can be done at scale, at small sites and at locations with restricted access, limited land or challenging conditions. Both of these approaches wield results that are not constrained by the scale of the effort.”

About Wildlife Habitat Council:
For 30 years, WHC has been promoting and certifying ecological stewardship action on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since only 10-15% of the world’s land surface is protected, private lands provide an essential opportunity for restoring and protecting biodiversity. As the only international conservation NGO focused exclusively on the private sector, WHC provides a framework for voluntary conservation action on a wide variety of corporate lands. WHC’s corporate members represent some of the leading national and multinational corporations seeking to support sustainable ecosystems and the communities that surround them. These efforts have resulted in more than 1,000 certified programs across 47 states and 28 countries.

Let’s Go Outside! The Benefits of Learning in the Outdoors

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Like most kids, I loved to play outside when I was young. The great outdoors seemed to be filled with limitless potential for exploration and fun, and its ever-changing nature with the weather and turning of the seasons only seemed to expand the possibilities. I could find an adventure or feed my curiosity anywhere from the creek that ran through our neighborhood park to the underside of the yew hedge in my own front yard.

As educators, we can harness kids’ natural enthusiasm for being outdoors with engaging, hands-on lessons based in our local habitat. Being outdoors with plenty of room to explore and play provides kids with an outlet for their energy that indoor classroom settings just do not allow. There are many educational games that are designed to be physically active, like Project WILD’s Oh Deer!  This activity offers kids (and willing adults, too) with an opportunity to run around and play while simultaneously learning about the relationships between deer, plants and predators.

The seemingly endless potential of the outdoor environment also naturally lends itself to inquisitiveness, inspiring kids to ask questions and seek answers about what they see, hear, smell, and touch.

Exposure to nature from a young age, particularly repeated exposure, instills kids with an appreciation of nature and a desire to protect it, turning young children into natural conservationists as they grow up. Providing them with opportunities to participate in conservation activities, from planting trees to helping with wildlife monitoring, further instills a conservation ethic in kids by allowing them to see conservation “in action.” Is it any wonder, then, that after years of exploring the natural world as a kid, I grew up to work in conservation, as did so many of my peers?

If you would like to learn more about using the outdoors as a space for conservation education at your facility, check out our webinars  on conservation education such as Incorporating Project Learning Tree into Your Educational Projects and Measuring the Success of Your Conservation Education Projects, or email our Strategy and Planning team.

Read more WHC blogs.

Joining Forces with USFWS to Save Monarch Butterflies in the Southeast

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By now you’ve likely heard that monarch butterfly populations have drastically and rapidly declined over the past several years. While approximately 1 billion of these butterflies completed their annual migration in 1996, only 30 million did so in 2014. As a result, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is currently reviewing the species for listing under the Endangered Species Act throughout its range in the U.S.

Building upon a long-standing partnership and the recently-established USFWS Region 4 priority to protect monarchs, the USFWS reached out to Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) in September 2014 to focus on increasing the amount of quality monarch habitat on corporate lands in the southeast U.S. The 2-year joint initiative concluded in September 2016.

To achieve the goals of the initiative, WHC coordinated with companies in the southeastern states to restore monarch habitat and educate the community about monarch conservation. The 16 participating companies created monarch habitat by planting milkweed, native warm-season grasses, and other pollinator-friendly vegetation. These plantings typically took the form of pollinator gardens or wildflower meadows. WHC also encouraged site teams to educate communities about monarchs and other pollinator species and their needs. At the culmination of the joint initiative in September 2016, the participating companies had completed 29 projects, which combined provide nearly 100 acres of quality monarch habitat.

As part of these efforts, WHC helped foster partnerships between participating companies and local organizations, who lent their expertise or hands-on assistance to help complete monarch habitat projects. WHC also succeeded in connecting a number of sites with their local USFWS field offices, whose staff were all tremendously willing to help when asked.

An additional outcome of the initiative was an event held at Research Triangle Park (RTC), a large multi-company business park in North Carolina where several WHC members are located. WHC staff joined the USFWS, Research Triangle Foundation, and several other exhibitors during National Pollinator Week 2016 for a monarch and pollinator exhibition designed to spread awareness among RTC employees about monarch conservation and the joint initiative. The event also provided opportunities for employees to connect with about 20 potential partners for restoring monarch habitat at their company’s facility. WHC is grateful to the USFWS, whose staff was instrumental and invaluable in bringing together so many local partners and helping making the event successful.

Although the joint initiative has ended and the USFWS has refocused its monarch conservation efforts in the Midwest, companies still have the opportunity to contribute to monarch conservation. You can find information about monarchs in the resources found in the WHC Knowledge Center, or contact the WHC Strategy and Planning team for one-on-one guidance on creating and monitoring monarch butterfly habitat at your site.

LS_field_Unimin - big bluestem

The Carbon-Sequestering Power of Soils

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This is the fourth in a series of blog posts about soil.

Earlier this year, scientists announced that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere had reached a record high of 400 parts per million (ppm), more than 120 ppm higher than pre-industrial carbon levels. It seems fitting, then, that I end this blog series with a post about the carbon-sequestering power of soils.

Carbon sequestration is the process by which carbon dioxide is moved from the atmosphere into a non-gaseous form, such as plant matter. Plants do this well, using sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into sugars and other compounds that ultimately turn into plant tissues. When more carbon is absorbed then released, the system is considered a carbon sink; the opposite, when a system releases more carbon than absorbs, is considered a carbon source.

When plants die, they decay and become part of the soil. Over time, this process allows soils to store large amounts of carbon and serve as carbon sinks, especially in soils where the decay of organic matter back into carbon dioxide is slow, such as colder regions and areas with low soil disturbance.

Prairie soils can be particularly good carbon sinks. Prairie grasses and wildflowers develop deep, extensive root systems; some prairie plants grow roots up to 15 feet deep! As these root systems decay, organic matter in the soil builds up relatively quickly. In fact, prairies can store more carbon underground than forests can store in trees aboveground.

Corporate conservation programs can help contribute to soil carbon sequestration in a number of ways. As mentioned above, planting native vegetation that is good at sequestering carbon, including trees and deep-rooted grasses and wildflowers, is a great way to do this. Teams can also manage existing habitats in ways that reduce soil disturbance and erosion, improve soil structure, and increase soil organic matter.

So the next time you hear about atmospheric carbon levels, consider how the soil under our feet is so closely linked to the air above our heads!

Read more WHC blogs.

Caribou Who?

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With the winter holidays fast approaching, I thought it would be fun to write about caribou, which most people know by their other name—reindeer.

Reindeer live in the northern latitudes of North America, Europe, and Asia. They are divided into several subspecies, based upon habitat (woodland or tundra) and location.

Reindeer are pretty unique, for several reasons. For starters, they are the only species of mammal that can see ultraviolet light. How cool is that? It helps reindeer to better see things like white fur (like Arctic wolves) in the glowing white of the Arctic region that they might otherwise miss.

Their eating habits also make them pretty distinctive. They are the only large mammal able to eat lichen because of specialized gut flora that helps them metabolize it.

Reindeer moss is a type of lichen and is a favorite food for reindeer. Source: Wacker Chemical Corporation

Reindeer moss is a type of lichen and is a favorite food for reindeer. Source: Wacker Chemical Corporation

Their reliance on lichen as a winter food source means they require plenty of undisturbed, lichen rich habitat, but unfortunately, climate change and other factors are causing this critical habitat to disappear all too quickly.

In most subspecies of reindeer, box sexes grow antlers, which is unique among deer. They also have the largest antlers relative to body size of all deer species. They can measure up to 51 inches long and 33 pounds! Male reindeer shed their antlers at the end of the mating season in early December, while females retain theirs throughout the winter until they give birth in the spring.

That’s right, folks – if the many depictions of Santa’s antlered reindeer are correct, that means Santa’s reindeer are all females. (I suppose it’s a good thing they all have gender-neutral names! Well, except for poor Rudolph.)

Observations of reindeer actually flying have yet to occur, though.

If you’d like to see reindeer in action, check out the Reindeer Cam at the Como Park Zoo & Observatory.

Read more WHC blogs.

Soils in All the Colors of the Rainbow

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A rainbow of soil is under our feet; red as a barn and black as a peat. It’s yellow as lemon and white as the snow; bluish gray. So many colors below. Hidden in darkness as thick as the night; the only rainbow that can form without light. Dig you a pit, or bore you a hole, you’ll find enough colors to well rest your soil.
– A Rainbow of Soil Words by F.D. Hole, 1985

In my introductory post about the Year of Soils, I explained how soils are made up of numerous components, both organic and inorganic. But no two soils are created equal!

Soils vary widely around the world. They can be organized, or classified, based on the variations in these organic and inorganic components. There are a number of different classification systems, including the USDA’s Soil Taxonomy system and the FAO’s World Reference Base for Soil Resources. These systems organize soils based on considerations like their overall texture (the proportions of clay, silt, and sand, which form from the slow breakdown of bedrock), their mineral composition, and the thickness and composition of their layers.

Oh yes…layers! Soil isn’t the same all the way down–it is much more complex! Over time, it goes through complicated processes like leaching, the addition and breakdown of organic matter (humus), and the breakdown of bedrock. The result is these layers:

Regional variations in temperature, rainfall, etc., as well as the composition of the underlying bedrock, result in dramatic differences in these layers. Including their colors! Here in Maryland, for example, much of our soil is a bright orange-red near the surface, due to a type of clay that holds large amounts of iron. This iron oxidizes (rusts) in the presence of oxygen, resulting in this vivid color.

And just as the living soil ecosystem can influence the plant ecosystem growing above, these non-living characteristics have an impact as well. Different plants prefer different soil conditions, including depth, moisture/drainage, pH, and texture, which is one of the reasons why all of the different soil types around the world support such variable plant communities.

Soil testing can be a great way to learn about your soil’s classification and associated characteristics. You can use this information to figure out what kinds of plants will grow best on your land, and if any amendments are needed to improve growing conditions.

Have you ever had your soil tested? What did you learn about your soil?

Read more WHC blogs.

Get Outdoors this Spring with Citizen Science!

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Now that it’s finally spring and things are warming up and beginning to grow, it’s a great time to get your employees and your local community engaged in outdoor activities as part of your corporate conservation program. One great way to do this is by participating in a citizen science project.

Citizen science is scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by non-scientific professionals. Citizen science projects are designed to be user-friendly for amateurs, and typically involve training to ensure everyone participating is comfortable with the techniques needed for surveys.

Here’s just a few examples of fantastic citizen science projects in North America that your team could participate in this spring and summer. There are many other great projects out there, of course, some of which (like Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count) are even conducted during the winter.

  1. NestWatch
  2. FrogWatch USA
  3. Nature’s Notebook
  4. NABA Butterfly Count Circles
  5. Project BudBurst
  6. NatureWatch (Canada)

For those of you with corporate conservation programs located outside of North America, here’s a couple of great citizen science programs that are conducted worldwide:

  1. eBird
  2. Project Noah
  3. iNaturalist
  4. Herp Mapper
  5. SPLASSH

Do you participate in any citizen science projects? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Read more WHC blogs.

Tag Archive for: habitat

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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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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DTE Energy | An Urban Oasis for Community and Wildlife in Industrial Detroit

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En Español

A power plant in an industrial area of Detroit at the juncture of the Rouge and Detroit Rivers is hardly the place one ventures for a retreat to nature. But a team of employee volunteers at DTE Energy have created an urban oasis at the company’s 105-acre River Rouge Power Plant.

Determined to utilize unused space amidst a sea of buildings and pavement, the team prioritized the incorporation of habitat wherever possible on the property, replacing every square inch of lawn with native, wildlife-friendly vegetation and creating a 5-acre nature area, repurposed from an unused, mowed field. Here, employees and visitors alike can enjoy and learn about the abundant tree plantings, prairie habitat, ponds and trails.

Great care was taken with the choices of landscape and species to ensure they were native to the region and beneficial to existing wildlife, according to Kirsten LeForce, DTE Energy conservation programs coordinator. The native plantings of trees, grasses and flowers include a variety of species that provide food for migrating birds, which stop over at the site in large numbers each spring and fall. The nature area also features a snake hibernaculum which provides cover habitat for Michigan state-threatened eastern fox snakes.

From the beginning, the nature area was meant to be enjoyed not only by employees but also the surrounding community, which lacked a useable source of greenspace. The River Rouge Power Plant hosts events several times a year, inviting local elementary schools and other community groups to participate in nature walks along the trails, tree planting, invasive species removal, pond sampling, and educational presentations about Michigan’s animals.

Another priority was the shoreline since the area was in dire need of restoration. In an effort to attract native birds and fish, the team received a Five Star Restoration Grant in 2010 to implement soft-shore engineering along the hardened Rouge River shoreline. This successfully-restored area now provides valuable habitat for herons and fish, and the native vegetation prevents the shoreline from eroding any further. The team also attempted to create nesting habitat for state-threatened common terns along the shoreline. However, despite working with several experts and utilizing best-practice tactics to attract terns, these birds have not yet successfully nested on-site. Jason Cousino, the Wildlife Habitat Coordinator for the River Rouge facility, noted that no matter how much time, energy and excitement goes into a project, it still may not be successful, but important lessons can be learned from failures just as much as successes.

Above all, LeForce remarked that the employees’ “passion for their site” is what drives the program’s continued success. Employees from all levels can get involved with the projects that are important to them, and the team receives an abundance of support from site management for implementing and maintaining projects.

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Toyota | From Grasslands to Wetlands to Gardens

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En Español

Located in the rural town of Blue Springs, Mississippi, TEMA’s Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi, Inc. (TMMMS) program encompasses 1,540 acres, with a variety of habitats for wildlife including grasslands, forest, wetlands and stormwater ponds. This large and varied site aligns its program with Toyota’s sustainability initiative, which lays out three conservation themes: native habitat restoration, green landscaping, and pollinators.  Reflecting these themes, TMMMS conservation efforts include maintenance of wood duck nest boxes and pollinator gardens, monitoring stormwater ponds and wetlands, and providing a number of employee and community engagement opportunities.

When beavers unexpectedly moved in and created dams in the ponds, the team gladly added it to their already extensive project list.

After careful research to determine where they should be placed, the wood duck boxes were assembled and installed with the help of a team of staff volunteers and a local Boy Scout troop. Through regular monitoring, team members discovered that several of the nest boxes were successfully housing breeding wood ducks within the first year. The team also worked to plant three pollinator gardens across an area of almost 6 acres, replacing former parking lots with pollinator-friendly plants, including milkweed, to benefit the critically-imperiled monarch butterflies. The team even partnered with Mississippi State University to develop an official Pollinator Management Strategy and conduct annual evaluations of the gardens. This solid partnership has helped the team improve the species composition of the gardens over time to better benefit pollinators.

Toyota When a landscaping glitch resulted in an unexpected habitat, TMMMS added a new conservation project. Retention ponds that were created during construction of the TMMMS facility were not originally intended to hold standing water. However, when beavers moved in and created dams, the team decided keep the ponds because they provide habitat for many other animals like waterfowl, fish and wading birds. The TMMMS team now monitors wildlife and plant growth, and is evaluating opportunities for additional projects in the ponds.

Employee and community engagement are a valued component of the TMMMS program. Employees have been encouraged to participate in annual events for Earth Day and National Public Lands Day, as well as cleanups, tree and shrub planting, invasive plant removal, painting, and construction activities at local landmarks. The team has also provided access to a graduate student from Mississippi State University to conduct thesis research on the root stimulation of oak trees, and to professors in Japan to identify afforestation opportunities.

It is a testament to the TMMMS team that the program has flourished from day one, and has even been able to convert several unexpected situations into successful, highly-beneficial projects for wildlife and the community.

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WIN Waste | Ensuring a Home for Migratory Birds

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En Español

Located on an upland island off the coast of Massachusetts and surrounded by the 1,300-acre Rumney Marsh Area of Critical Environmental Concern, the Wheelabrator Saugus Inc. Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary provides 340 acres of upland and intertidal habitat for migratory birds and a variety of other wildlife.

This program serves as a model of how active operations and a wildlife sanctuary can easily co-exist without conflict, and indeed, to the benefit of both wildlife and business needs.

The Wheelabrator team members who manage the Sanctuary’s habitats are primarily focused on providing quality habitat for migratory birds, particularly the 24 rare specialized species in the area that are suffering the most from habitat loss. The team’s active management of the site’s 9 different habitat types maintains the signature tones and textural features that birds use to identify stopover habitat from high in the air during their migratory journey along the Atlantic Flyway. These efforts have been so successful that as of 2016, employees and community volunteers have documented 178 bird species at the Sanctuary, including 15 of the 24 specialized bird species and several vagrant species that arrived by accident, likely as a result of being blown off-course during migration by a storm. Without active management, these bird species would not be enticed to come and stay at the Sanctuary.

Along with migratory birds, the team also maintains a number of other projects to manage the 9 habitats in an integrated manner, including control of several invasive and nuisance species. These efforts to benefit wildlife began in the mid-1990s with construction of the various upland habitats as part of the post-closure reuse plan for an older landfill.

Wheelabrator’s conservation efforts are not limited to the Sanctuary. The Bear Creek facility also includes an energy-from-waste plant and an ash monofill. This program serves as a model of how active operations and a wildlife sanctuary can easily co-exist without conflict, and indeed, to the benefit of both wildlife and business needs. The team attributes much of their success to regular meetings between the various operating units on-site, which have been held since the mid-90s when construction of the habitats began. Collaborating has helped to enhance understanding of each group’s needs and overcome various facility limitations or misconceptions, which in turn helps promote harmony between habitat and wildlife management efforts and facility operations. Frequent communication through these meetings also allows the team to identify opportunities, such as the potential for reforestation when a portion of the property will become inactive for the long-term.

Community volunteers, who visit the site for bird walks and tours, make a significant contribution to the achievements of the program. The core group of birders who regularly attend the walks and tours provide invaluable assistance in identifying birds and documenting these observations on Cornell University’s eBird.org. These dedicated birders also serve as unofficial ambassadors for the program, sharing the program’s achievements with other members of the community.

The Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary serves as a model of success for any program wishing to balance habitat management with business needs. By maintaining active management of the site’s habitats and working closely with both the site’s operational staff and a core group of community volunteers, the team ensures that migratory birds can continue to find quality habitat on site for the long term.

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Tag Archive for: habitat

Fired Up! Using Prescribed Fire in Your Habitat

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Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology. The human tendency to suppress fire can sometimes allow invasive plants to out-compete native grasses and flowers, therefore reducing plant and animal diversity. Prescribed burns, also known as controlled fires, can be a valuable tool in habitat management and restoration. In this webinar, learn how several WHC-certified programs successfully use prescribed fire to manage and restore native habitat.

You’ll learn:

  • The basics of implementing a prescribed burn, including safety considerations, burn techniques and tips for communicating with the community about burn plans and outcomes
  • The types of habitats where prescribed fire can be used for management or restoration, and what kinds of outcomes burns can help accomplish
  • How to work with partners to plan and implement a prescribed burn

Presenters:

  • Clayton Frazer, Senior Ecologist, Eco-Resource Consulting, Inc.
  • Casey Groce, Environmental Specialist, Sr., Southern Nuclear Operating Company
  • Kristine Thompson, Environmental Manager and Quality Assurance, Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

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How They Did It: Checking In with the Best Insect Hotels

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What makes a great bug hotel? WHC wanted to find out through last year’s Insect Hotel Challenge, our first ever international design and build contest for bug hotels. We received 41 entries from across the US, Mexico, Brazil, and as far away as Uzbekistan. The entries were judged on creativity and ingenuity, the use of found materials and the awareness of the designers of the habitat benefit to insects.

In this webinar, hear from the teams behind the winning hotels on how they developed their creative structures and implementation plans.

You’ll learn:

  • The inspiration behind the creation of these award-winning bug hotels for native bees, lacewings, beetles, ladybugs, and other insects.
  • How these projects enhance partnerships and strengthen conservation programs and community engagement
  • Ideas for building a bug hotel of your own

Presenters:

  • Tatiana Gil, General Motors São Caetano do Sul, Brazil
  • Becky Azevedo, Technical Manager, Waste Management Guadalupe Landfill
  • Thelma Redick, Senior Director of Conservation Content and Partnerships, Wildlife Habitat Council

What is an Insect Hotel?

Need a primer on insect hotels? Learn the basics through our on-demand webinar: Build a Bug Palace – Learn How Easy, Inexpensive Insect Hotels Can Enhance Your Habitat.

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