News from Waste Management’s Pine Tree Acres Landfill Courtney joined the staff at Pine Tree Acres this summer for an engineering internship. She is currently enrolled at Michigan Technological University majoring in Environmental Engineering. When not in school, she resides in nearby New Baltimore. Courtney chose environmental engi- neering because she knew she wanted to make a difference in the world. A Girl Scout since first grade, the experience shaped Courtney’s “go green” attitude and her love for helping others and the planet. Her activities at Michigan Tech include an organization called “Engineers Without Borders” where students become involved in projects in Bolivia and Guatemala providing ways for communities to have clean drinking water and latrines. Courtney first toured Pine Tree Acres while a student in high school. She pursued Waste Management for two years to obtain this internship. Her persistence paid off this year, and she was able to spend 20 hours a week from June through August to learn about the waste and environmental industry. Courtney chose Waste Management because “…it is a great company and I am interested in finding new ways to reuse our waste and reduce the amount that goes into landfills. I have learned so much over the summer here at Pine Tree Acres; I am very excited to graduate and start changing our world.” Dave Rogers, District Manager at the landfill said, “Courtney did a wonderful job at Pine Tree Acres…she met and even exceeded our expecta- tions, it was a pleasure to have her work with us this summer.” Waste Management is a proud supporter of the Wildlife Habitat Council (WHC), www.wildlifehc.org. Pine Tree Acres Landfill is a certified WHC site with a Wildlife at Work program and over 100 of its acres surrounding the landfill are dedicated to wildlife habitat. When the MDNR asked if they could pay a visit to the site to see if it might be a good location for an annual waterfowl banding program, staff at Pine Tree Acres were happy to assist in this important wildlife management effort. Waterfowl banding in the migratory flyway of southeast Michigan is a joint effort. It is managed by a partnership between the State of Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and provincial and government agencies in Canada. Waterfowl banding activities help the MDNR gain important information about migratory patterns, recovery rates, and other species’ biological information. Collectively this partnership is known as the Mississippi Flyway Council (MFC). These efforts help the MDNR and MFC to track and better manage important wildlife natural resources. With the help of Waste Management and other dedicated volunteers, the MDNR was able to band 128 geese at Pine Tree Acres Landfill and observe an additional 5 previously banded birds. This year the MDNR exceeded its quota of banding 900 geese in Southeast Michigan by banding just under 1,700 geese at several locations throughout the area. Your Community Connection Vol. 2, 2014 Pine Tree Acres Landfill 36600 29 Mile Road Lenox, MI 48048 Telephone 586-749-9698 Fax 586-749-6440 Call for current hours of operation as hours may change seasonally. Monday–Friday 7 a.m. –4:30 p.m.; Saturday 7 a.m.–11 a.m. For tours or public education presentations, please call the site. Meet Courtney Fournier Did you Know? Recycling Hours Every day during normal business hours Courtney Fournier, Pine Tree Acres Engineering Intern pinetreeacres.wm.com Printed on recycled paper. LANDFILL CONCERNS HOTLINE 1-877-360-8582 Please keep this number handy. The Pine Tree Acres Wildlife Habitat Program is designed to engage the local community in outdoor activities, and to grow respect and appreciation for our natural environment. Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy, www.sixriversrlc.org, is a local non-profit agency that works to protect and preserve natural areas in southeast Michigan. The organization is working to develop a SEMI-WILD website http://semiwild.org/ to inform families of fun outdoor recreational activities in SouthEast Michigan, hence the name SEMI Wild. The website will provide information about opportunities for families to get “unplugged” and explore the great outdoors in their local area, encouraging families to become better stewards of their natural environment. Speaking of wildlife Chris Bunch., Executive Director, Six Rivers Land Conservancy