Amazon employees from their YVR4 fulfillment centre in Delta donated close to $13,000 and volunteered their time to plant trees at the Earthwise Society garden in Boundary Bay.
The donation was the culmination of Amazon’s global Earth Month volunteer competition, which took place in April.
Throughout April, thousands of employees volunteered to support clean-up efforts, tree plantings and other ‘green’ activities. An added bonus to this effort was a friendly competition between teams across the world for the highest number of volunteers throughout Earth Month, with winners receiving a grant to donate to an environmental charity of their choice.
YVR4 was Canada’s volunteer challenge winner.
Volunteers from the site engaged in clean-ups at the Wellington Place Park along the Fraser River and successfully cleared more than 150 kg of waste from the beach. They also conducted an invasive plant pull at Ladner Harbour Park and removed nearly 70 kg of English Ivy which impacts the local eco-system. The team chose Earthwise Society because of its long history of environmental stewardship and making a positive impact in the communities where our employees live and work.
“We are always very proud to support our operations employees in taking actions which contribute to the communities we work in, and Earth Month was an excellent example of this,” said Shailesh Kumar, senior operations manager, YVR4. “We had an immediate impact on the environment with our clean-up activities, and the funds donated to Earthwise will go a long way towards environmental sustainability.”
Ellen Girouard, WHS specialist at Amazon Canada’s YVR4 Fulfillment Centre nominated Earthwise for the donation.
“I remember my daughter mentioning the Earthwise Farm that she had gone to with the kids a few years back and how amazing it had been and an experience for the kids,” said Girouard. “The importance they had placed on the future such as recycling, sustainability, planting without pesticides, using compost that is recycled is the key to their story, dream and continued praise and it’s why I nominated them.”
Earthwise Society executive director Patricia Fleming said they are honoured to have been chosen to receive such a generous donation.
“The contribution will make a real difference to our organization and to our community by helping to fund our ongoing environmental stewardship, education, and food security initiatives,” said Fleming. “Thank you for recognizing Earthwise Society and helping us continue to have a positive impact on our community.”
