Proterra, a leading manufacturer of advanced battery technology, is our newest WAIT partner! Located in Greer, SC, Proterra is helping power the shift to a sustainable future by providing innovative battery solutions for heavy-duty commercial vehicles and equipment manufactures.

During a recent visit, Jay Keck, SCWF’s Industry Habitat Manager, explored the property with staff and led a nature walk for approximately 25 enthusiastic employees eager to learn about habitat creation and conservation. Along with installed nest boxes for the Eastern bluebird and wood duck, Eastern screech owl boxes will be installed at the edge of a forested area, increasing the likelihood of this beautiful but declining bird to breed in the area. Prairie areas border much of the property and provide food for many pollinators and the animals that feed upon them. Plants like goldenrod, blackberry, and pokeweed, are numerous and provide food for dozens of bird species and possibly hundreds of types of moths and butterflies. Larger plants like sassafras, black cherry, white oak and willow oak, provide the property with an excellent source of food for caterpillars, birds, reptiles, and mammals.

The WAIT team at Proterra has created a fun and easy way for employees to record the plant and animal species on the property by providing a QR code for employees to scan which directs them to a common page where they can input their findings. This inventory of plants and animals, and its access to employees, has the potential to open up their eyes to the biodiversity on the property, which can lead to conservation efforts on and off the property. To assist employees with the inventories, field guides of local plants and animals are available for employees in the lunchroom. In addition to these guides, nature books, interpretive nature signs, and information about the WAIT program and Proterra’s commitment to habitat conservation is available for employees to explore.

We applaud these initial efforts by Proterra and cannot wait to see what they do for wildlife and wildlife conservation in future years. The name Proterra means “For the Earth” and we love to see their employees living this out daily. Well done, Proterra!