Tennessee Wildlife Federation Recognizes Bridgestone Facility With Conservation Educator Of The Year AwardBridgestone Environmental Education Classroom & Habitat in Warren County, Tenn., honored for outreach programs
WARREN COUNTY, Tenn. (April 1, 2010) - The Bridgestone Environmental Education Classroom & Habitat (BEECH) received the Tennessee Wildlife Federation’s Conservation Educator of the Year Award during the organization’s annual awards reception on March 31.
“We are honored to be recognized by a leading environmental group like the Tennessee Wildlife Federation,” said Carol Rose, Community Relations Coordinator, Warren County Plant, Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations (BATO). “We feel our BEECH program is a reflection of our facility’s and our company’s commitment to conservation, environmental education and most of all, to our children.”
The BEECH program provides local students with a hands-on environmental education at the company’s Warren County truck and bus tire plant, which has a 680-acre certified wildlife habitat area devoted to maintaining natural open and wooded areas, grasses, nature trails and a pond. The BEECH facility also has an advanced environmental classroom equipped with both live and mounted animals. Students study local wildlife, habitats, pollinators, forests, soils, water and the air, and learn important lessons about recycling, conservation and the shared responsibility to protect the environment. An estimated 5,000 students participated
in the BEECH program in 2009.
The Tennessee Wildlife Federation (TWF) Conservation Educator of the Year Award recognizes the individual, company or organization that makes the most significant contribution to conservation education in Tennessee.
“Bridgestone Americas’ BEECH program is unique — it is not often that a company makes such a commitment to environmental education,” said Michael Butler, TWF. “This is a great program for Tennessee.”
The TWF is not the first organization to recognize the Warren County facility’s commitment to environmental education. In 2009, the BEECH was named the Wildlife Habitat Council’s Corporate Habitat of the Year and also received the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award for Excellence in Environmental Education and Outreach.
“The Warren County facility has always been an environmental leader in the company and the community,” said Tim Bent, Director of Environmental Affairs for Bridgestone Americas, Inc., BATO’s parent company. “We are especially proud and thankful for their efforts on the BEECH, which shows how companies and communities can be involved in innovative ways to teach and learn about nature conservation and how ecology, economics and society are all interrelated.”
The BEECH facility is part of BATO’s commitment to “One Team, One Planet,” a global environmental initiative of Bridgestone Corporation, Bridgestone Americas and its family of companies.
About Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations:
Nashville, Tenn.-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM) is the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world’s largest tire and rubber company. BSAM and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies are also engaged in retreading operations throughout the Western Hemisphere and produce air springs, roofing materials, and industrial fibers and textiles. The BSAM family of companies also operates the world’s largest chain of automotive tire and service centers. Guided by its One Team, One Planet message, the company is dedicated to achieving a positive environmental impact in all of the communities it calls home.