 Bridgestone’s tire plant in Warren County, Tenn. has claimed the nationally coveted Corporate Habitat of the Year Award bestowed by the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC). “What an honor,” remarks factory manager Ron Brooks. “We are very proud of the work we are doing with the Bridgestone Environmental Education Classroom & Habitat program at the plant,” Brooks elaborates, “and we take great pride in being named Habitat of the Year by a leading environmental group like the Wildlife Habitat Council.” The award, announced at the WHC’s annual national symposium held recently in Baltimore, recognizes the plant’s wildlife habitat, which was certified as a Wildlife at Work location in 2004. The Bridgestone Environmental Education Classroom & Habitat (BEECH) program was established in 2008 and certified as a WHC Corporate Lands for Learning site earlier this year. The BEECH presence in Warren County provides young people with hands-on environmental education, a key goal of Bridgestone’s global “One Team, One Planet” initiative, Brooks reports. Instruction at the BEECH facility is conducted on outdoor nature trails and in an advanced classroom equipped with both live and mounted animals. Students study local wildlife, habitats, pollinators, forests, soils, water and the air while learning “important lessons about recycling, conservation and the shared responsibility to protect the environment,” he says. About 5,000 students have already participated in the endeavor. The plant had initially applied for the Rookie of the Year award – but based on the selection committee’s review of the BEECH program, the judges elevated the nomination to Corporate Habitat of the Year and gave it the top prize. Winners get a solid bronze osprey statue to display at the site for a year. Previous honorees include the Dow Chemical Co., Pfizer and British Petroleum. The Corporate Habitat of the Year Award recognizes a company or individual location that demonstrates “superior habitat enhancement and restoration” based on improvements to the habitat, scope of projects, level of commitment, outside group involvement, length of involvement, employee involvement and environmental credibility. For more information, visit www.wildlifehc.org and www.bridgestone-firestone.com.
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