Alligators, red-cockaded woodpeckers, and coyotes don’t have much in common – except that they all happen to share living quarters on GE-Hitachi’s Castle Hayne campus. As WHQR’s Rachel Lewis Hilburn reports, the site, just outside of Wilmington, was recently certified as a National Wildlife Habitat.
On the 1600-acre site, only 300 acres are actually developed. And that means species ranging from bobcats to black bears to bluebirds have more than two square miles to roam.
Diana Hart is a senior vice president of Environmental Health and Safety for GE-Hitachi Nuclear. She says the recent certification as a Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Council is one element of GE’s focus on environmental stewardship.
“We encourage the wildlife here. We want to protect it. We do feel that it’s very important to maintain the natural resources of NC. It’s a beautiful place to live. We want to keep it that way.”
Hart says GE Nuclear has also worked over the last two years to cut water usage by 50%. And as part of the green initiative, employees competed to build and decorate the best bluebird house. Now nearly 50 uniquely-decorated nesting spots adorn trees around the campus.
