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volume 15 issue 2 . human interest

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bridgestone_environmental_education_classroom_and_habitat_beech

Why are Bridgestone employees growing chestnut trees? And not rubber trees?

The Welcome Sign is always posted at the Warren County, Tennessee manufacturing facility, giving the community an open invitation to enjoy the plant’s 688-acre wildlife habitat.

Bridgestone recently partnered with the Warren County School District and established the Bridgestone Environmental Education Classroom & Habitat, better known as BEECH. Twice a week, students come by the busload for hands-on instruction in environmental education – made fun and interesting by Bridgestone employee volunteers.

We tagged along and learned about turkeys and deer and bluebirds, and watched as students helped bring the magnificent American chestnut back from near-extinction.

While the Tennessee summer was hot and humid, rubber trees require a steamy climate year-round. Luckily,
American Chestnuts thrive in Tennessee, as noted by third grade students tracking their growth.

wildlife_field_trip

Biologists with the nonprofit Wildlife Habitat Council give Bridgestone guidance to help the wildlife area thrive. BEECH is also part of Corporate Lands for Learning.

This isn’t simply a field trip for students, the information is part of the school system’s environmental education curriculum, and they will be tested on it. One teacher said the kids generally score 100% on what they learn at BEECH.

No other company – let alone a manufacturing facility – opens its doors to area students as part of the school system’s curriculum.

Bridgestone employees have welcomed over 6,000 students since BEECH opened in April 2008.

“How can you ask children to value the environment when they don’t understand what they’re saving”? Carol Rose, Community Relations Coordinator.
Longtime volunteers Tamara Cannon, Engineering Budget/Cost Coordinator (left) and Lee Irby, Tech Service Section 1 Manager, show students how humans compost differently from nature.

Are turkeys pollinators? What lives in the burrow? And inside that fallen tree? Third graders use digital cameras and worksheets to record their answers on the 1.7-mile nature trail and inside the classroom.

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