When it is mature, Maiden Quarry’s pit stop will resemble this plot in Charlotte, North Carolina.
www.martinmarietta.com | November/December 2017 The Conveyor 17
Wildlife Federation (NCWF) and has grown to include about
1,500 registered gardens, or “pollinator pit stops,” across an
estimated 30,000 acres of the state.
Just a modest cluster of flowers on an apartment balcony
is enough to provide a valuable pit stop for pollinators along
The Butterfly Highway. Martin Marietta’s contribution
to the project – a 3 ½-acre plot along the edge of Maiden
Quarry – lies on enough land for three football fields. As
part of the network, the land will help make a difference.
What is infinitely more valuable, however, is the example
the company has set for others, Hjarding says.
“Working with Martin Marietta – our first non-utility
corporate partner – has set a major precedent,” she says.
“Our partnership shows other companies that this is how
they should be doing business. It shows them that they
can do the right thing without significantly affecting their
bottom line.”
While The Butterfly Highway specifically aims to help
pollinator species in decline (insects like monarch butterflies
and certain types of bees, for example), Hjarding, who serves
as director of pollinator and wildlife habitat programs with
the NCWF, says birds and a host of other animals also benefit
from the preserved habitats along its path.
Another goal of the initiative, she says, is to bring a new
voice to the conversations that often dictate how land is
developed at the local level.
“In the long term, there are several questions we need to
consider when we think about changing the land around us,”
Hjarding says. “Why are we doing it? Can we do it better? Are
there steps we can take to protect wildlife – specifically those
pollinators we so often forget about?”
North says education is a key to shifting that conversation.
In the very near future, he hopes to bring students into
Maiden Quarry to see firsthand the importance of preserving
natural habitats.
“We’re working with local schools as we speak,” he says.
“Ultimately, we hope to provide students with tours that go
well beyond just the science of geology and the process of
mining. We want to offer full lessons in the local flora and
fauna and the value of sustainability.”
Brian Hamrick, the plant manager responsible for Maiden
Quarry, welcomes the educational component of The
Butterfly Highway. He says that as the operation’s pit stop
matures and school tours begin, the relationship between
the quarry and its neighbors will strengthen.
“The garden presents a perfect opportunity for us to get
out there with the people,” he says. “Any time you can bring
students in to see our operation, they learn about our
industry and our efforts to make it sustainable. That’s a win
for everyone involved.”
North says Maiden Quarry’s participation in The Butterfly
Highway initiative was part of a larger effort to fully certify
Martin Marietta in Wildlife and Industry Together (WAIT), a
program that involves only corporations operating in North
Carolina and South Carolina that have effectively transformed
portions of their land into wildlife habitats capable
of supporting a wide diversity of plant and animal life.
Other Mid-Atlantic Division efforts related to the cause
include the development of Clean Audit Teams that perform
environmental audits across the division and the introduction
of timber management programs to heavily wooded
operations.
While divisional leadership views WAIT certification as a
great achievement, North ultimately hopes to see the company
earn recognition in worldwide sustainability programs.
“We’ve successfully defined who we are when it comes
to safety. These are the types of projects that will help us
define who we are when it comes to our environmental
impact,” he says. “We’ve been engaged in sustainability
initiatives for years. Now, we have a great opportunity to
establish those initiatives as official programs that set us
apart from our competitors.” ▼
PHOTOS BY BRIAN NORTH
/www.martinmarietta.com