2014 Archives - Wildlife Habitat Council

Ashland | Responsibly Solving to Support a Thriving Habitat at a Former Landfill

Ashland’s Old York Road site, a former landfill located in Burlington Township, New Jersey, comprises seven acres of grassland and has been actively managed for conservation since 2012. The site houses projects ranging from invasive species management to mammal monitoring to educational partnerships. Ashland’s conservation goals include monitoring and supporting native wildlife and incorporating native vegetation to reduce maintenance needs across the site. Through a partnership with Rutgers University, the company also facilitates hands-on learning opportunities for future conservation professionals.

Ashland’s commitment to environmental protection aligns with the Responsible Care® program, a global initiative developed by and for chemical companies. “Identifying opportunities to create conservation projects on environmental remediation sites aligns with Ashland’s global environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives and Responsible Care goals of improving the environmental and social impacts of the company’s operations on our communities,” explained Shannon Lloyd, remediation project manager at Ashland.

Old York Road plays host to various species of birds, bats, mammals and pollinators, with projects designed to attract and support these native species. The bird box project targets cavity-nesting songbirds, with predator guards ensuring that only avian species can access the boxes. Through weekly monitoring, employees found that 52 fledglings successfully graduated from the nesting boxes in 2020 and 2021, with the number of successful fledglings nearly doubling in 2021.

As white-nose syndrome has been documented in the state of New Jersey, Ashland’s solvers have aligned their bat project with the White-Nose Syndrome Response Team’s recommendations for supporting bat populations, such as providing shelter, food and water. In addition to box observations, Ashland also uses an ultrasonic microphone for monitoring purposes. Through echolocation surveys, the team has determined that there are five species of cave-dwelling bats in the area: big brown bats, little brown bats, red bats, hoary bats and silver haired bats.

To facilitate further species monitoring, Ashland has installed a wildlife camera trap annually since 2019 to record evidence of mammals such as white-tailed deer, racoons and red foxes. Two cameras are installed and deployed for five days during seasonal monitoring events. Nine species were identified using this camera, including the target species plus groundhogs, opossums and squirrels. Ashland also conducts pollinator monitoring of bumblebees, honeybees and butterflies, and in May 2021, 19 total pollinator species were observed.

Through a formal learning connection with Rutgers University, Ashland creates real-world educational experiences for local students that surpasses what is possible through classroom instruction alone. “Ashland has made a commitment to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education,” said Lloyd, “and partnering with students who gain hands-on field experience action supports that commitment.” This mutually beneficial partnership with Rutgers provides students the opportunity to apply their ecological expertise to the site’s projects by monitoring nest boxes and conducting wildlife and vegetation surveys, while Ashland receives useful data for monitoring and documentation. Through this project, students hone their skills of data collection and management, field observation, species identification and applied conservation. “There is a learning curve that varies each year,” explained Lora Sterner, senior associate environmental scientist, Kennedy Jenks Consultants, Inc. and program manager for Ashland’s WHC sites. “Preparing step-by-step procedures specific to each project is part of the programmatic approach and improves the consistency and quality of information used in preparing the certification documentation.”

The program at Old York Road also targets invasive species. The tree of heaven is an invasive tree in the area that grows quickly and outcompetes native plants for resources such as water and sunlight. They were first observed on-site in 2017 and were targeted for removal via mowing and cutting. Tree of heaven often serves as habitat for another invasive species, the spotted lanternfly, which was first seen on-site in 2020. The team has since targeted trees of heaven more heavily for removal, and the ongoing removal of these trees will help slow the growth of lanternfly populations.

As part of their remediation of the former landfill, the team at Ashland went above and beyond regulatory requirements by seeding the landfill cap with a native seed mix and developing a maintenance plan to support the growth and success of native plants. Thanks to a conservation easement, the remediation project is protected from any habitat loss or fragmentation that might occur due to development or reuse of the site.

Through partnerships, rigorous monitoring and a dedication to supporting native plants and animals, Ashland’s solvers have developed a thriving habitat.

Related Content:

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Bridgestone | Compañía y Comunidad se unen para restauración de habitat en el Norte de Mexico

Ubicada en la ciudad de Ciénega de Flores en el estado mexicano de Nuevo León, Bridgestone Neumáticos de Monterrey, fabrica neumáticos para vehículos y camiones ligeros. Más de la mitad de esta instalación de 190 acres es también el hogar de un hábitat de vida silvestre que consiste principalmente de bosque de monte submontano y que se desarrolla entre las laderas de las montañas y las tierras bajas de la meseta mexicana.

El principal proyecto de conservación del equipo dirigido por empleados es la restauración del ecosistema forestal submontano mediante la siembra de semillas y los esfuerzos de reforestación. Tales esfuerzos comenzaron en 2010 con la construcción de un invernadero y vivero que cultiva hasta 1,500 plantas a la vez. Usando semillas que fueron recolectadas en la primavera y el verano, y el compostaje hecho de desechos de alimentos de la cafetería de empleados de la compañía, el equipo cultiva especies de las plantas nativas como anacahuita, mezquite de miel, ébano de Texas y Yucca filifera.

Las plántulas cultivadas se utilizaron para los esfuerzos de reforestación en varias áreas de la propiedad. Hasta el momento más de 500 árboles han sido plantados por el equipo y los miembros de la comunidad durante una serie de eventos de reforestación que se llevan a cabo cada año, como la plantación de árboles para empleados y sus familias durante estos eventos abiertos. El equipo también alberga colecciones de neumáticos y los empleados y miembros de la comunidad traen neumáticos viejos para ser reutilizados en el sitio como marcadores de ruta y plantadores y el equipo planta o dona un árbol por cada neumático recolectado.

Ofrecer oportunidades educativas para los empleados, los estudiantes y la comunidad es un aspecto importante del programa, por lo cual, como era de esperar, los esfuerzos se extienden más allá del tema de la reforestación. Los estudiantes de la escuela primaria local a menudo ayudan al equipo con los esfuerzos de la plantación de semillas mientras aprenden sobre la importancia de sus plantas nativas y cómo evitar el desperdicio en su vida cotidiana.

Los empleados también aprenden sobre el compostaje y la reducción de desechos como parte de una iniciativa en el sitio y el Proyecto Zero Landfill. Participan en la limpieza del río para desechar los neumáticos y los desechos de las vías acuáticas locales. El equipo también organiza eventos comunitarios centrados en el Día de la Tierra, el Día Del Árbol y el Día del Medio Ambiente, y produce guías sobre la flora y fauna local.

Un ejemplo admirable del poder del compromiso de la comunidad, el equipo de Bridgestone Neumáticos de Monterrey y la comunidad circundante han hecho grandes progresos en la restauración de bosques subtropicales en el lugar y en el mejoramiento de la conciencia sobre la biodiversidad local.

CRH Americas Materials | A Unique Wildlife Oasis Near the Heart of Atlanta

En Español

It began simply enough. Find a way to give back to the local community that was meaningful to both the company and its employees. The result, though, is much more than anyone could have envisioned.

The CRH Americas Nature Trail at the Marcus Autism Center was developed and constructed — using CRH Americas Materials products of course — over a two-year period by CRH employees in partnership with the Marcus Autism Center, one of the largest autism centers in the U.S. and one of only three National Institutes of Health Autism Centers of Excellence. Nestled in 13-acres of mature hardwood forest in Atlanta, Georgia, the trail connects the Marcus Autism Center and a nearby elementary school to the surrounding residential community, with routes carefully selected to minimize the impact on the natural environment. It boasts an outdoor learning space, benches, wildlife viewing platforms and an amphitheater.

Many events are hosted at the site throughout the year, including an annual Community Day. During this popular event, which attracts more than 300 people, CRH Americas and their partners come together on the trail to showcase their work. Highlights have included scavenger hunts, butterfly releases, live animal demonstrations and educational exhibits. Children who attend are engaged through Community Day learning stations, which teaches them about the wildlife found on the trail.

Another large-scale community event held on-site is the annual Earth Day Celebration, which is centered on a different theme and community partner each year. CRH America’s partnership with the Atlanta Audubon Society was emphasized when one year’s focus was birds; when another year focused on forest restoration and invasive species removal, a partnership with Trees Atlanta was featured.

Since its inception, CRH employees have remained heavily invested in the project. Its wildlife team, which has grown from seven employees to more than 20, conducts monthly visits to the site and has spent thousands of volunteer hours working to remove invasive species, plant native plants, build a pollinator garden and construct a bird observation area. The team has also assisted other Atlanta-based companies, including Turner Broadcasting, Ernst & Young, and The Home Depot, with their own employee workdays at the trail.

“Partnerships are key to the success of the CRH Americas Materials Nature Trail at the Marcus Autism Center,” said Hillary Johnson, Community Relations Director at CRH Americas Materials. “By aligning with the right community partners, it’s a win for all parties involved. We have access to expertise that increases the impact of our project, our partners are able to further their respective missions, and the community gets to enjoy the result of these partnerships, which is this unique oasis surrounded by nature.”

ITC | A Wildlife-Friendly Rain Garden to Manage Stormwater Runoff Charms Employees and Partners Alike

En Español

Managing stormwater runoff can prove to be a significant challenge for sites in urban areas and other highly-developed locations. It causes problems with flooding, erosion, and water quality, as well as a multitude of indirect impacts associated with these issues. Green infrastructure projects like rain gardens are becoming increasingly embraced as a way to help alleviate stormwater runoff impacts at corporate facilities while also improving site aesthetics and providing habitat.

Faced with issues from erosion caused by excessive runoff, employees at ITC Holdings’ Wayland Warehouse constructed a rain garden in 2012. The garden is designed to intercept and absorb several thousand gallons of runoff from the warehouse’s roof during a rainstorm—water that would otherwise flow across the lawn and into the parking lot. The team sought the expertise of Environmental Consulting & Technology (ECT) for help with designing the garden and selecting a variety of pollinator-friendly native plants that tolerate the fluctuating conditions of a rain garden. Another contractor, MJA Landscaping, conducts routine maintenance and monitoring of the garden and, according to ITC Environmental Manager Mike McNulty, both contractors and employees genuinely enjoy these activities and “really take pride in the rain garden.”

The rain garden is designed to capture thousands of gallons of stormwater runoff from the warehouse roof and provides foraging and nesting habitat for native pollinators and songbirds.

This is the third rain garden installed at an ITC facility and was the first project implemented at the Wayland Warehouse. The team has partnered with another facility, Belleville Warehouse, to reach out to community groups through educational workshops about the sites’ rain gardens. They also hosted a workshop about nest boxes for students at the Child Discovery Center in Grand Rapids.

In 2016, because of the success of the rain garden and employees’ enthusiasm for it, the team planted an adjacent 1,200-square-foot upland garden as an expansion. The rain garden has also been enhanced with tube bundles to provide nesting habitat for native bees, and a nest box to provide nesting habitat for wrens and chickadees.

While small in scale, the Wayland Warehouse conservation program provides a valuable island of habitat in an area dominated by the hallmarks of urban development — non-native turf grass lawns, buildings, gravel and pavement, and ornamental hedges. In fact, butterflies, bees and songbirds have all been observed in the garden area since its installation. In addition, the small scale of the program has allowed the team to focus its time and energy on ensuring its success. As McNulty described, “It’s a small enough, focused project that we could devote time and effort to it.”

The Wayland Warehouse team has successfully implemented a focused, comprehensive program, and to reward these efforts, the team was awarded the 2016 WHC Green Infrastructure Project Award.

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Freeport-McMoRan | Teaming Up to Protect the Burrowing Owl in Arizona

En Español

Burrowing owls are unique among owls — not only are they often active during both night and day, they are also the only owl species that nests and roosts underground. As they aren’t able to dig their own burrows, they create homes from abandoned spaces dug out by other animals like ground squirrels. Unfortunately, burrowing owl numbers are declining, and they are considered a species of concern in Florida and many parts of the western United States. In an effort to protect the burrowing owl, companies like Freeport-McMoRan are implementing large-scale installation of artificial burrows, providing valuable and much-needed habitat for this unique and beautiful creature.

Located in the Gila Valley of Arizona, the Freeport-McMoRan Safford Operations program has made great strides to conserve burrowing owl habitat with artificial burrows and relocation procedures. The conservation project site, known as the San Jose Burrowing Owl Habitat, was selected for its ideal conditions — the adjacent agricultural fields support ample prey for burrowing owls, and the Gila River and riparian areas are far enough away that dangers such as flooding and predation by raptors are minimal.

Seeking expertise in burrowing owl habitat, the Freeport team partnered with WHC and Wild at Heart, an Arizona-based raptor rescue organization. The first phase of the project was launched in the spring of 2013 with the construction of 100 artificial burrows. Each burrow is paired with a wooden perch that owls use to watch for predators. Several clusters of burrows were opened later that year to encourage natural recruitment of owls to the site.

Collaboration with a diverse group of local partners is the key to this project’s success.

The second phase began in 2014, when the team worked with Wild at Heart to relocate 16 displaced burrowing owls to the site. Over two dozen volunteers from Freeport, Wild at Heart, WHC, local schools, and Boy Scouts troops constructed release tents and then placed the owls inside these temporary “homes.” The tents provided a safe space for the owls to acclimate to their new surroundings and the artificial burrows. After 30 days, during which the owls were provided food and water, the tents were removed. This relocation technique is commonly referred to as a “soft release,” with different variations used for relocating other wild animal species. The team was thrilled to discover that several breeding pairs had already established nests in the burrows; others moved to adjacent burrows after the tents were removed. The release tent construction and owl placement was repeated the next year with an additional 20 displaced owls, again with much success. Freeport employees continually monitor the habitat and the owls using it to ensure they are thriving.

This collaborative endeavor spearheaded by Freeport proved to be the key to this project’s success. Bringing together a diverse network of partners, such as WHC, Wild at Heart, Gila Watershed Partnership and Eastern Arizona College, was invaluable to accomplishing the various phases of the project and it generated broader enthusiasm about the habitat.

Both employee and community participation has also been instrumental to the project. This was evident at the first community event, which hosted over 100 participants. The Freeport team continues to engage the community in the project and increase awareness about the burrowing owl by hosting events such as Conservation Days, field trips with hands-on learning for nearby schools, and a celebration of the project’s success for the team and its partners.

The team’s exceptional efforts in burrowing owl conservation were recognized at the 2016 Conservation Conference, where they were awarded the 2016 Avian Project Award.

Related Content

Blogs:
- Nest Cameras
- Providing Homes for Burrowing Owls
Webinars:
- Monitoring and Evaluation: What’s Working, What Isn’t
- The Value and Beauty of Birds: Creating Successful Habitat Programs with a Focus on Birds
Project Guidances:

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Bridgestone | Community and Company Come Together to Restore Habitat in Northern Mexico

En Español

Located in the town of Ciénega de Flores in Mexico’s state of Nuevo León, Bridgestone Neumáticos de Monterrey manufactures tires for passenger cars and light trucks. More than half of this 190-acre facility is also home to a wildlife habitat primarily consisting of submontane scrub forest– a habitat that develops between the mountain slopes and lowlands of the Mexican Plateau.

Providing educational opportunities for employees, students, and the community is an important aspect of the program.

The main conservation project of the employee-led team is restoration of the submontane scrub forest ecosystem using seed propagation and reforestation efforts. These efforts began in 2010 with the construction of a greenhouse and nursery that can grow up to 1,500 plants at a time. Using seeds collected in the spring and summer, and compost made from food waste from the employee cafeteria, the team grows native plant species such as anacahuita, honey mesquite, Texas ebony, and Yucca filifera.

The seedlings grown are then used for reforestation endeavors in several areas of the property. So far, more than 500 trees have been planted by the team and community members during a series of reforestation events held each year, such as tree planting for employees and their families during annual open house events. The team also hosts tire collections that directly connect to its reforestation efforts. Employees and community members bring in old tires to be reused on-site as pathway markers and planters, and the team plants or donates a tree for every tire collected.

Providing educational opportunities for employees, students, and the community is an important aspect of the program so, unsurprisingly, these efforts extend beyond the topic of reforestation. Students from the local elementary school often help the team out with seed planting efforts while learning about the importance of native plants and how to avoid waste in their daily lives. Employees learn about composting and waste reduction as part of the on-site composting initiative and the Zero Landfill Project, and participate in river clean-ups to remove tires and other debris from local waterways. The team also hosts community events focused around Earth Day, Arbor Day, and Environment Day, and produces field guides of local flora and fauna.

A model example of the power of community engagement, the Bridgestone Neumáticos de Monterrey team and the surrounding community have made great strides in restoring submontane scrub forest on-site and improving awareness about local biodiversity.

Toyota | From Grasslands to Wetlands to Gardens

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.

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.

Ashland | Responsibly Solving to Support a Thriving Habitat at a Former Landfill

Bridgestone | Compañía y Comunidad se unen para restauración de habitat en el Norte de Mexico

CRH Americas Materials | A Unique Wildlife Oasis Near the Heart of Atlanta

En Español

Related Content

ITC | A Wildlife-Friendly Rain Garden to Manage Stormwater Runoff Charms Employees and Partners Alike

En Español

Freeport-McMoRan | Teaming Up to Protect the Burrowing Owl in Arizona

En Español

Bridgestone | Community and Company Come Together to Restore Habitat in Northern Mexico

En Español

Related Content

Toyota | From Grasslands to Wetlands to Gardens

En Español

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About

Work With WHC

Learn More

Member

UN Global Compact Business for Nature

Official ally

World Benchmarking Alliance

UN Global Compact
Business for Nature