General Motors of Canada CAMI Assembly, Canadian Headquarters and Oshawa Assembly receive Wildlife Habitat Recertified
2015-11-19
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OSHAWA– General Motors of Canada CAMI Assembly, Canadian Headquarters and Oshawa Assembly have all been recognized by the Wildlife Habitat Council for enhancing biodiversity at the facility and engaging community partners to promote wildlife conservation and education. CAMI Assembly and Canadian Headquarters received Wildlife at Work and Oshawa Assembly received Corporate Lands for Learning recertification for the extensive wildlife enhancement and education projects done in the community such as CAMI Assembly’s joint invasive species management pilot project with a local conservation authority, Oshawa Assembly’s milkweed planting collaboration with a local college, and Canadian Headquarters’ hosting of its popular community event: the Feathered Friends Festival.
The Wildlife Habitat Council’s Corporate Lands for Learning certification program recognizes outstanding environmental education efforts that offer hands-on learning opportunities by using habitats located on corporate lands to teach ecological concepts and the human role in conservation. Oshawa Assembly’s habitat program was first certified in 2014. Wildlife Habitat Council certification requires sites to apply for periodic renewal.
The Wildlife Habitat Council’s Wildlife at Work program provides a structure for corporate-driven cooperative efforts among management, employees and community members to create, conserve, and restore wildlife habitats on corporate lands. CAMI Assembly’s habitat program was first certified in 2011. Canadian Headquarters’ habitat program was first certified in 2003. Wildlife Habitat Council certification requires sites to apply for periodic renewal.
CAMI Assembly provides learning opportunities through hands-on learning in a natural environment, and plays a significant role in the biodiversity conservation of the region. This year, CAMI Assembly started a pilot project with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority to tackle the invasive species of phragmites. CAMI Assembly has also continued its projects of inviting local schools to educational activities, wildlife species monitoring, tree-planting, and creating habitats for amphibians and small mammals such as the threatened species of the barn swallow. This year CAMI Assembly built a nesting structure for their habitat.
Canadian Headquarters’ McLaughlin Bay Wildlife Reserve is GM of Canada’s first Wildlife Habitat certified site. Its site includes 4.5 miles of constructed walking trails. The wildlife team has planted nearly 38,000 trees and shrubs and placed more than 40 bluebird nesting boxes on the premises. This year, the team continued its maintenance of its new pollinator garden and hosted the second annual Feathered Friends Festival which was hugely popular, attended by over 300 community members.
Oshawa Assembly provides extensive learning opportunities for local schools. This year, Oshawa Assembly partnered with Durham College to plant over 1,200 milkweed plants. These plants are essential for monarch butterflies – an important pollinator – as it provides needed sustenance for them at their caterpillar stage. The wildlife team there also continued many of its flagship education events such as a community clean-up, GM GREEN program, and Envirothon.
“Our habitat program provides significant benefits to the environment and the dedicated employees who manage it,” said Les Bogar, Plant Manager. “It also serves as an outdoor classroom to educate youth and the community on the importance of conservation.”
These facilties only make up for three out of 46 GM facilities around the world with conservation programs certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council. GM has more certifications than any automaker and actively manages nearly 4,700 acres of wildlife habitat in seven countries.
Additionally, employees from the CAMI Assembly, Canadian Headquaters and Oshawa Assembly team up with community partner organizations and neighborhood schools to teach students about watershed conservation through the GM Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN) program.
For more information on GM’s environmental commitment, visit its sustainability report and environmental blog.
About General Motors in Canada
Headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario, General Motors of Canada employs more than 9,000 people across the country. GM Canada markets the full range of fuel-efficient Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac vehicles and related services through Canada’s largest automotive dealer network. More information regarding GM vehicles can be found at www.gm.ca. To learn more about innovation and the future of the automotive industry visit www.gminnovates.ca or follow @GMCanada and #GMInnovatesCA on Twitter.
About the Wildlife Habitat Council
The Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC) promotes and certifies habitat conservation and management on corporate lands through partnerships and education. Since 1988, WHC programs translate corporate sustainability goals and objectives into tangible and measurable on-the-ground actions. Through a focus on building collaboration for conservation with corporate employees, other conservation organizations, government agencies and community members, WHC programs focus on healthy ecosystems and connected communities. WHC wildlife habitat and conservation education programs are found in 44 states, the District of Columbia and 13 countries.
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