Finding motivated employees to enhance wildlife habitat, and connect with coworkers and the community, is critical for the success of the Wildlife And Industry Together or WAIT program. Luckily, such people stepped up to lead the program at our most recent WAIT partner, Shakespeare Columbia, located in Richland County.

After recently teaching a lunch and learn about wildlife and conservation to over twenty employees, I learned about their plans to hold additional nature-related lunch and learns each year, as well as plans to have an iNaturalist ID competition, photo contest, and a Merlin Bird ID contest. In addition to educating employees, a small team will spend an afternoon each year discussing environmental career paths with students at Title 1 schools in the local community.

To further connect with the community, employees will also participate in litter sweeps in the area, the most recent being a successful river sweep in Cayce, SC. You can see the impact from that sweep in the picture below!

We are also proud of these employees for enhancing gardens with pollinator plants, installing Bluebird boxes, as well as developing plans to create a Carolina Fence Garden, which will continue to inspire employees to take a closer look at the natural world around them, and connect them to the planet’s smaller wonders, our pollinators!

Welcome aboard, Shakespeare Columbia, and thank you for doing such a great job connecting employees and the community to wildlife!

Why WAIT?

SCWF partners with conservation-minded businesses throughout the state who want to help wildlife thrive by enhancing their properties and providing educational opportunities for their employees and communities. Read more about the WAIT Program and how to join here.