It's not every day that a chemical company gets cited for creating wetlands, but Richmond, Va.-based Albemarle Corp. has been recognized twice in as many years for its innovative programs at two of the company's U.S. plant sites by the Wildlife Habitat Council.

One of those sites is Albemarle's Orangeburg facility, which celebrated the grand opening of the 135-acre Orangeburg Wildlife Habitat on Friday, Nov. 2.

Following years of planning and nearly six months of preparation, land development and physical labor, Orangeburg's newly developed habitat, nicknamed "Hundred Acre Woods" by its habitat team, was certified by the WHC's Corporate Wildlife Habitat Certification/International Accreditation Program as a commendable wildlife habitat management and environmental education program.

In March, the Orangeburg team began developing 135 acres of hardwood and evergreen forest along the black waters of the Edisto River into a natural habitat designed to attract and foster wildlife growth, simplify Albemarle's land management practices and assist local and state agencies with the study and analysis of natural resources.

In addition to being a wildlife habitat, the Hundred Acre Woods will serve as an educational center and community outreach resource for the region. The habitat's Outdoor Learning Center, complete with electricity and running water, is geared toward school children through eighth grade.

At the grand opening, the team witnessed for the first time a child's reaction to the site.

Jeremy Huff, a second-grader at Holly Hill Academy, accompanied his father, T&D Photographer Christopher Huff, on a tour of the habitat following the ribbon cutting.

"I especially liked reading up on what the plants were," Jeremy Huff said. He said he likes learning new things and plans to tell his class and teacher how much he enjoyed the Hundred Acre Woods.

Hundred Acre Woods also features pollinator gardens using more than 10 plant species, a built-from-scratch turtle basking pond, several nature trails and wetland bridges for observing wildlife and four bridges crossing wetland areas.

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The team provided visitors with a tree and shrub glossary featuring more than 30 pictures of species to help identify the numbered plants along the trail. Huff said another feature of the trail he really enjoyed was the turtle pond, and ceremony guests were invited to release 47 slider turtles, relocated from another pond on Albemarle's grounds, into their new home.

Led by Kim Krisle, a supply chain department manager at Albemarle, the Orangeburg habitat team worked nights and weekends cleaning up the woods, clearing land for and developing the turtle pond, blazing and marking the nature trails and running water and electricity lines to the learning center, among other tasks.

The habitat team included David Andrews, Jeff Broeker, Tom Kerr, Jason Krisle, Neil Oates, T.C. Sanford, Russell Smoak, Ryan Smoak, Arthur Sweatman, Jimmy Taylor and Connie Whisenhunt.

"Under Kim's leadership, the team has done a tremendous job of creating a wildlife habitat and nature learning center for the community on undeveloped land here," said Rebecca Schmidt, Orangeburg plant manager. "We can't thank Kim and all of her team members enough for their passion and hard work to reach this significant milestone."

Students from South Carolina State University helped the team clean up the woods, and Boy Scout Troop 45 and Pack 90 constructed 35 pre-cut nesting boxes and will soon celebrate their installation with a cookout. The site will also partner with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the local Soil and Water Conservation District to assist with natural area surveys.

The habitat team is currently considering additional boardwalks along the Edisto River and an observation tower.

Team member Connie Whisenhunt said she was most excited about the educational benefits of Hundred Acre Woods.

"Teachers can bring their classes here and plan a whole lesson around it," she said.

Albemarle President and CEO Mark Rohr said the corporation's mission "as a global, socially conscious company is to deliver specialty chemical solutions to our customers and to the world in a responsible and environmentally sound manner."

"We improve the sustainability of our world when we improve the sustainability of our operations, and vice versa," he said. "I can think of no better sign of this improvement than the new wildlife habitat at Orangeburg.

"While we will formally distribute corporate sustainability pledges later in the year, Albemarle employees like this team at Orangeburg have been steadily engaged in a campaign to make sustainability, like safety, a part of their daily lives, and they have considered the best interests of their community in these efforts. It is extremely gr.jpgying to see the level of enthusiasm that the Orangeburg team has brought to its work, the way they have involved the community at different stages, and the impressive results achieved in a relatively short time frame."

At the grand opening and ribbon cutting, Krisle expressed gratitude to the team for all the hard work members put into developing the habitat.

"What we've been able to accomplish as a team has been tremendous," she said. "We want people to know that we care about our environment and our community."

Albemarle's Orangeburg facility will receive international recognition for its commitment to environmental stewardship at the WHC's 19th annual Symposium, "The Value of Green," which will be held Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 12-13, in Baltimore.

The company's Wildlife at Work project is one of 173 that will be honored during the symposium. Since 1990, WHC has ce.jpgied 432 such programs worldwide. The ce.jpgication program recognizes outstanding wildlife habitat management and environmental education efforts at corporate sites and offers third-party validation of the benefits of such programs. Requirements are strict, and sites must apply for periodic renewal.

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