Waste Management Inc., Houston, has received the President’s Award from the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) based on the company’s wildlife habitat management and environmental education programs at 16 landfill sites in North America.
The award was announced in mid-November at the WHC’s 18th Annual Symposium in Baltimore. The President’s Award was established by the WHC “to recognize individuals or partner organizations who have demonstrated leadership in community outreach, conservation education and environmental stewardship,” according to the organization.
“We are very honored to receive this award from the Wildlife Habitat Council,” says Waste Management CEO David Steiner. “I am proud of the work [our employees] do to protect the environment and to educate our communities about conservation programs and appreciate the Wildlife Habitat Council's recognition of those efforts.”
At the conference, WHC announced that Waste Management received the largest number of facility certifications from the council for its nine certifications and seven re-certifications of its landfill sites.
Waste Management landfill sites in the U.S. that received certification status are:
- High Acres (Monroe County, N.Y.) - the 440 acres of wildlife habitat contain four miles of hiking trails and breed several bird species of special concern, including vesper sparrows, bobolinks and grasshopper sparrows.
- Springhill (Campbellton, Fla.) - the site contains a “green power” generation facility and contains nesting habitats for a number of bird species and ponds and wetlands to provide attractive habitat for American alligators.
- Pine Grove (Pa.) - the 350 acres of wildlife habitat comprises a mix of deciduous and coniferous woodlands, grasslands and fallow farm fields. The site also includes an environmental education center that will include a nature center, trails, wildlife observation blinds and pavilions.
- Austin Community (Austin, Texas) - Enhanced wildlife habitat protection. YMCA Environmental Campers planted a butterfly garden to increase the biodiversity of insect populations and constructed a nature trail through the site.
- Ottawa (Ontario) - features owl nesting platforms and nesting tubes for mallard ducks
- Richmond (Ontario) - focuses on avian conservation, particularly of wood ducks and bluebirds. Will eventually incorporate recycled materials into the building of boardwalks and benches.
- Ste. Sophie (Quebec) - features over 200 planted spruce trees and well-loved horse trails
- Magog (Quebec) - incorporates a beaver habitat restoration project in the heavily forested area
- Saint Nicephore (Quebec) - contains exclusively native planted species of white spruce, jack pine and sugar maple trees to offsets their endangerment in the region
Waste Management landfill sites across North America that received re-certification status are:
- American (Waynesburg, Ohio) - the site preserves 145 acres of wetlands, and more than 415 trees have been planted by school children through its annual tree-planting event.
- GROWS and Tullytown (Tullytown, Pa.) - more than 3,000 acres are devoted to wildlife habitat management. This was the first Waste Management facility to receive WHC’s Corporate Lands for Learning certification for its youth and adult educational programs.
- Mill Seat (Bergen, N.Y.) - the natural areas on the property include upland deciduous woodlands, deciduous swamp, successional shrub upland habitat and marshes.
- Alliance (Taylor, Pa.) - more than 450 acres are available for wildlife. Participants in its education program help enhance wildlife habitat and track bird diversity.
- Blackwell (Sarnia, Ontario, Canada) - incorporates park land and wetland communities into the naturalization of the property.
- Petrolia (Ontario) - contains an ecosystem for wildlife habitat, providing nesting and grazing for birds and several wildlife species.
- Warwick (Ontario) - contains thousands of planted poplar trees to create an ecosystem for insects, birds and mammals.
Waste Management now has 24 landfills in North America that are WHC-certified and provide more than 17,000 acres of protected lands for wetlands and wildlife habitats, according to the company.
The Wildlife Habitat Council, Silver Spring, Md., devotes its resources to building partnerships with corporations and conservation groups to manage more than 2 million acres in 48 states, Puerto Rico and 16 other countries for wildlife habitat protection.
More information on the group can be found at www.wildlifehc.org.
