Waste Management-Michelin Campground Natural Area

About the Program
The Waste Management-Michelin Campground Natural Area is a former landfill site in Jefferson County, Kentucky. The team manages 70 acres of protected and enhanced wildlife habitat in line with WM's corporate environmental initiatives. WM employees work with contractors and consultants, the University of Kentucky and volunteers to maintain the site's forested areas, grassland and wetlands as a home for native wildlife. These projects were created and managed with the intention of nurturing viable and healthy habitat for wildlife, including birds and pollinators, as well as to use the site for employee and community education.

Practices and Impacts

• The team manages 5.6 total acres of forest around the property, planting and expanding forest area around the northern side while removing invasive plants from established wooded area in the center and southern side. Routine monitoring shows plant diversity is increasing for trees, shrubs and herbaceous understory plants and providing habitat for wildlife.
• The team has replaced pre-existing turf grass groundcover on the closed landfills with native warm-season tallgrass prairie plants. As of 2020, the plant inventory monitoring shows at least 113 different plant species present in the grassland habitat. 
• Shrub and tree growth in the wetlands has increased to provide good wildlife cover, and contains a mix of planted buttonbush and dogwoods, with volunteer black willow and maples. The species that were planted as plugs in the wetland (including swamp milkweed, blue flag iris, sedges, rushes and bulrushes) are present through the habitat, and the spread of the plants has grown. 
• Throughout the site, the team manages 14 bluebird nest boxes, two wood duck boxes, a purple martin tower, a kestrel nest box and a raptor perch. In total, 47 bird species have been observed on-site, an increase from 39 bird species that had been observed as of 2017. The most abundant birds include tree swallows, red-winged blackbirds, robins, starlings, various sparrows and Canada geese, as well as less common birds such as indigo buntings, common yellowthroats, wild turkey and common woodcock. 
• A pollinator garden within the grassland area with milkweed has been flagged off for protection and certified as a Monarch Waystation. The team also maintains bee hives, bee block, bee house and two pollinator hotels. 
• Each year, WM holds a volunteer event during which employees dedicate a work day to assist with maintaining and monitoring the habitats and learning about environmental issues.