Earth Day and PLANET Day of Service: 225 yards of mulch, 60 volunteers, 3 tree plantings...

by Anita Gambill, Publications Relations Specialist, STIHL Inc.

PLANET Day of Service volunteers enhance school

In celebration of Earth Day and the fourth annual Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) Day of Service, STIHL Inc. again teamed with the CIty of Virginia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation, Bartlett Tree Experts and K&D Round's Landscape Services to clean up and beautify two school properties. I attended both days and was able to witness first hand the enthusiasm for the work and the opportunity to give back to the local community. It was also rewarding to know that our local projects were part of a much larger effort across the country (international effort, actually) that included an estimated 2,600 volunteers working on 150 projects in 36 states, Canada and Puerto Rico, contributing an estimated value of $675,000.

"These projects are a partnership between STIHL, the City of Virginia Beach   Department of Parks and Recreation and Virginia Beach Public Schools. The tree work and beautification project will save the city approximately $8,000," said Shawn Hopson, superintendent of grounds services for Virginia Beach Parks and Recreation.

Reclaiming an outdoor classroom

On April 20, Bartlett Tree Experts and STIHL worked with the City to reclaim a small wooded lot used as an outdoor classroom and a corridor area previously damaged by the 2011 Nor'easter.

Hazardous trees were removed

The wooded lot provides residents with access to both Bettie F. Williams and Newtown Elementary Schools and also serves as an outdoor learning area for both. Work included several tree removals, as well as pruning and removal of dead and damaged limbs. These operations will help ensure the health of the other trees while removing the hazardous trees from the site, providing a safer environment for the well being of those using the space. (View Facebook album.)

In addition to City employees and a crew from Bartlett Tree Experts, several STIHL employees participated, included two International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) certified arborists on staff at STIHL, Justin Espy and Casey Kralovetz.

"It's great to be able to get outdoors, away from the computer, and work with our equipment alongside other industry professionals to do something to benefit the community," said John Foster, a STIHL employee who assisted with Friday's efforts. "Cleaning up an outdoor space to be used by the schools to help get youth involved with nature is truly a day well spent."

Enhancing an elementary school landscape

Nick McIntyre of K&D leads children's project

On April 21, K&D Round's Landscape Services and STIHL joined the City on an overall cleanup and beautification effort that included weeding, clearing flower beds, planting trees and perennials (donated by local wholesalers), and mulching common areas, as well as weeding and mulching of an interior courtyard. More than 50 STIHL Inc. employees and their family members turned out to give their time to help the school. Nick McIntyre of K&D Round's Landscape Services was back for a third year of leading the children's planting projects.

Mike Camp, a STIHL employee and Virginia Beach resident who participated both days, commented, "It was an excellent day for all of the STIHL employees and their families helping out Newtown Elementary School for the PLANET Day of Service. Nothing beats sweat and hard work - great job, everyone!"

STIHL is a supporting sponsor of the national PLANET Day of Service. By participating in PLANET Day of Service, green industry professionals across the nation unite to demonstrate the industry's environmental stewardship by giving back to their local communities.

Commitment to environment is ongoing

It's not just once a year that STIHL demonstrates its commitment for the environment. Over the past several years, STIHL has made significant investments in product Research & Development to address our environmental footprint. STIHL is dedicated to developing products that minimize environmental impact and consumption of natural resources. We are proud that our product line features some of the best available technologies and some of the cleanest-running outdoor power equipment available today. You can find out more about our Caring for Nature products, including our 36-volt lithium-ion STIHL Battery KombiSystem on our website (also, check out the current rebate offer).

We also work to reduce our environmental impact in our operations and manufacturing processes. We are ISO 14001 registered and have ongoing recycling and energy conservation initiatives. In an upcoming blog, we'll share some of our environmental projects with you, including how we've already reduced our solid waste by more than 40 percent and how we are generating power at our facility to reduce our draw from the public grid.

America’s Caretakers Compete at PLANET Student Career Days

by Roger Phelps, Promotional Communications Manager, STIHL Inc.

Recently, I had a chance to spend time with more than 800 of the best and brightest students in green  industry fields during what some have called the “green industry olympics.” The PLANET Student Career Days is a four-day event that tests the skills of horticulture, arboriculture and landscape students across the U.S. These are the folks who, in a few short years, will be caring for American parks, forests, landscapes, and green spaces.

This was the 36th year of the event, and students from more than 60 colleges and universities gathered together at host school Kansas State University to compete in events as diverse as small engine repair, plant identification, wood construction, skid steer operation and business management. Over 150 industry representatives from as far away as Alaska were also on hand at the Career Fair, where students interviewed and received job offers from some of the top landscape companies in the country.

Members of Washington County, KS
FFA team compete in Landscape install

The reason that we have been supporting this event for over a decade as the lead sponsor is that we believe strongly in supporting these future caretakers of America’s green spaces. It is also the reason why we sponsored two FFA teams to attend the event. The teams from North Carolina and Kansas were the top finishers in the National FFA Nuresery and Landscaping Career Development Event. The eight students had a chance to interact with school and industry representatives and compete in four different college-level events, including the landscape plant installation. I think they all had a great time, and what was most rewarding for me was to see their excitement about the industry. Nothing like hanging out with the best in the business to get you excited about a future in this line of work we all love.

An integral part of the PLANET Student Career Days is the PLANET’s Academic Excellence Foundation (AEF) awards ceremony. Each year, the foundation awards scholarships to students pursuing a course of study in the green industry. This year, there were over 200 applications, and more than 60 scholarships and awards were presented, totaling more than $70,000, at the annual recognition reception. We are proud to be a founding sponsor of the foundation, and we have increased our commitment to $50,000 to join a select few as a Platinum Ambassador.

 

The results of the competition can be found on the PLANET Student Career Days website. On behalf of the employees at STIHL Inc., I’d like to congratulate the overall winning team, Brigham Young University – Idaho. I was pleased to present to them on behalf of STIHL a check for $5,000. I would also like to highlight the performance of specific students who made a particular impression on me and our group:

Roger Phelps of STIHL, Ismael Ruelas,
and Jim McCutcheon of HighGrove Partners

• Owens Community College: Each year we award the STIHL Spirit Award in honor of Walt Peeples. This award goes to the team that shows the most teamwork, camaraderie, fair play, and passion. According to our judges, Owens took an early lead and never looked back. They received a plaque and a check for $1,000 from STIHL.

 

• Ismael Ruelas of Brigham Young University – Idaho received the STIHL Landscape Scholarship in the amount of $1,200 during the PLANET AEF dinner. The scholarship is presented each year to a Hispanic student pursuing a course of study in landscaping. I had the honor of hosting this event and presenting the scholarship to Ismael.



A student competes in the STIHL
small engine exam.

• Joe Shear of Michigan State University took top honors in the small engine repair competition. The competition, which is designed and administered by Eddie Anderson. Eddie heads our STIHL MasterWrench Service™ training course.  The contest consisted of a 100-question written exam, and a 2-hour timed practical exam using an engine from a STIHL blower. Joe received a $100 product certificate from STIHL and earned his school a $3,000 STIHL tool kit.
• Micah Wood and Jeff Monroe from Brigham Young University – Idaho bested 39 other teams in the wood construction event by building a top-quality park bench under timed conditions. They each received a $100 STIHL product certificate.

I have been attending this event for nine years now, and seeing the caliber of the students who will be the caretakers of our green spaces has helped assure me that the future is in good hands. I encourage you to learn more about the wonderful work these students do at PLANET Student Career Days, and visit studentcareerdays.org to get involved or to support their efforts. I would ask that you also consider donating to the PLANET AEF fund to secure the future of our industry and our environment.

For more photos of the event, visit the 2012 PLANET Student Career Days gallery on the STIHL Facebook page.

STIHL Merchant Success Story: Ipaco – Where You’re Not Just a Customer

by Bill Brunelle, Project Manager, Independent We Stand

From left: Daryl Andersen, Devon Andersen, David
Andersen, Loyal Andersen with Mike Winger of
Intermountain STIHL, a branch of STIHL Inc.

You probably know that STIHL Inc. distributes its products through independent businesses. They do this in order to help ensure their customers receive the best customer service and maintenance from product experts and technicians. STIHL sponsors Independent We Stand, a movement of local businesses and consumers dedicated to spreading the “buy local” message, in order to stand behind dealers like Ipaco who deliver on the STIHL promise every day.

Ipaco has been family-owned and operated since Loyal Andersen opened up shop in Logan, Utah, in 1974. Over the years, a lot has changed at Ipaco. They now carry everything from steel to STIHL.

What hasn’t changed over the past few decades is Ipaco’s commitment to their customers and to the community. I chatted with Loyal Anderson about how he runs his business, and his philosophy is to “buy locally whenever possible. From buying fuel for company vehicles through local stations, office supplies through local suppliers and our groceries at the locally owned grocery stores.”

All this local purchasing means locally owned businesses like Ipaco reinvest in the local economy at a 60 percent higher rate than chains and Internet retailers.* They provide a stronger tax base and more jobs than their national competitors. To join the movement or to find out the impact you could have on your own local economy by shifting your spending, visit www.independentwestand.org.

* Civic Economics – San Francisco Report on Retail Diversity