In 2011, Nestle Waters employees partnered with SCA to complete vital conservation service to parks in Connecticut, Maine, Florida, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Colorado. Overall, projects ranged from planting trees to staining boardwalks and debris removal. Overwhelmingly, the projects were most often based in under-served areas and parks that were in need of public support and maintenance.
Fast Facts:
- 169 NWNA volunteers
- 652 hours of volunteer service
- 15 trees planted
- 1000+ square feet painted or stained
- 2500 bushels of invasive plants removed
- 2.5 tons of trash removed
Stamford Museum and Nature Center
On June 10th, Stamford Nestlé Waters’ employee volunteers plus distinguished VIP guests including elected Connecticut official Congressman Jim Himes spent the day cleaning and removing debris from the Stamford Museum and Nature Center’s “Nature’s Playground,” an experiential outdoor education center designed for connecting young people to nature; and planting trees to create an “Evergreen Grove” where young visitors will have the opportunity to learn about diverse varieties of evergreen. Volunteers used shovels and pry bars to dig large holes (in very rocky soil!), then position and plant ten 5” – 6” evergreen trees to create an educational evergreen grove. Another group of volunteers cleared brush and fallen branches near our preschool and then dug up ferns from the woods and transplanted them to create a fern garden. They also raked leaves and debris on the preschool playground. This work improved the appearance and safety of the playground and the “gathering place,” an outdoor area with a circle of wooden benches which is used by our preschool and other educational programs. The final project was a major clean-up of the Poorhouse Brook, a watershed which runs through the SM&NC property. Volunteers removed fallen branches, dead trees, invasive vines and trash from the stream and its banks, resulting in improvement of both the natural appearance and the water flow of the stream.
Range Ponds State Park
NWNA employee volunteers and members of their families worked on staining a park building used as a workshop and storage area by the park, which had not been repainted for over 30 years. Several volunteers also removed litter and cleared brush around a playground area. Range Ponds State Park boasts 750 acres of land frequented by visitors and locals of the Lewiston-Auburn area looking for an outdoor experience with friends and family. In addition to camping, cross-country skiing, horseback riding, paddling and boating, visitors to the Park are encouraged to take advantage of the numerous hiking trails.
Wildlands Conservancy
NWNA employee volunteers and members of their families removed invasive species, conducted general clean up and cleared waterbars. To date, over 46,000 acres of precious open space have been preserved, numerous stream-restoration projects have been completed, new and innovative educational programs have been established, and several watershed-management plans have been completed by the Wildlands Conservancy.
Crystal Springs Preserve
On Friday, October 21st in honor of Make A Difference Day, some thirty-one NWNA current and retired employees, plus friends and family spent one hundred hours removing 118 cubic yards – roughly 2500 bushels of exotic brush and invasive plant species along the Hillsborough River. The volunteers’ work helped to maintain the Crystal Springs Preserve, a 525-acre sanctuary devoted to environmental education and dedicated to the preservation of Florida’s natural environment.
La Quinta Cove
On October 29th, volunteers worked to remove debris from the old Cove dump site near the Boo Hoff and Cove to Lake Trails, which leads into the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. In total, 36 hard-working volunteers picked up 2.5 tons of trash in just four hours! The National Monument is 280,000+ acres and has over 400 miles worth of hiking trails, and La Quinta Cove has one of the most widely used trail systems in the Coachella Valley. The clean-up day helped the Bureau of Land Management to ensure that the recreational use of this land does not have a negative impact on wildlife in the area.
Houston Arboretum
On Saturday, November 5th, Nestle Waters North America volunteers provided vital conservation service in Houston where severe drought left the local Arboretum and Nature Center vulnerable to wildfires erupting throughout the state. NWNA employees and their families worked alongside Arboretum staff and community volunteers to remove 1/5 of an acre of leaf litter and forest debris away from the building, creating a “defensible zone” to protect the beautiful nature center in the event of a wildfire. The 155-acre non-profit urban nature sanctuary provides education about the natural environment to Houstonians of all ages while offering an escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. The Arboretum also plays a vital role in protecting native plants and animals in the heart of the city where development threatens their survival.
Barr Lake State Park
Nestle Water brought 17 volunteers to Barr Lake State Park on November 12, and provided 68 hours of conservation service to the park. The volunteers stained wood to be used in the construction of a new 100-foot boardwalk that will allow visitors to view the eagle nesting grounds around Barr Lake. Some of the younger volunteers also planted trees around the Nature Center. The volunteers also had the opportunity to ride the “Eagle Express,” a golf cart tour of the park grounds that allowed the volunteers to have an insider’s peek at the park and view migrating birds along the lake. Barr Lake State Park is a local gem that offers something for every type of outdoors person—from the fishing enthusiast and boater to the naturalist, and is a short drive northeast of the Denver area.