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For the second year in a row, McPherson CertainTeed Molded Products employees and community volunteers are taking healthy eating to a new level, planting another enormous LiveWell garden on land just one block from company property. This year’s 90-by 100-foot plot includes a new donated irrigation system from CertainTeed’s Pipe and Foundations McPherson Plant, employee-built tool shed with shingles donated by CertainTeed’s Roofing Products group and 21 different varieties of vegetables. All crops harvested will be available for employees, with a large portion designated for local shelter donation as well.
The LiveWell garden is named after CertainTeed’s LiveWell corporate healthy lifestyle program designed to create a culture of wellness in the workplace. Employees earn credits, which result in reduced benefits cost through participation in company-wide events throughout the year. Locally, the McPherson Wellness Team also creates additional events for employees to earn additional credits, with the garden included as a major credit enhancer.
And after the huge success of last year’s 50-by-75-foot plot which produced more than 60 pounds of potatoes, ten pounds of onions, 25 gallons of sweet potatoes, 80 watermelons, approximately 50 cantelope and a large corn harvest, the Garden team unanimously agreed they could do even better. The garden had more than met their goals of not only providing a plentiful amount of healthy food, but the benefits of exercise and stress relief that goes along with it.
Even before the first crops were picked, the Wellness team spread the word about the incentives to coworkers to help spur involvement and assistance in planting an even larger amount of crops next time — all while experiencing the same wellness rewards. Along with lofty harvest goals come unique ideas for future company gatherings.
“This year we have approximately 400 feet of corn, 300 feet of white and red potatoes, 70 feet of sweet potatoes. We also planted popcorn for something different,” says CertainTeed documentation specialist and wellness team member Gerry Lundy. “We thought it would be fun to pop up and share with employees at meetings.”
The LiveWell garden would not have been possible without the donation of community helpers’ time and equipment: The plot was generously loaned to the Wellness team by the county as a pilot project to observe symbiotic benefits when industry & local government cooperate on specific projects, and the county extension agent has also volunteered his time to give guidance on gardening best practices and pest control. In addition, a master plumber hooked up the waterline for the new irrigation system, and a local company provided free advice and parts for employees to implement the system; while another community volunteer used his own equipment to plow, till and fertilize the plot.
A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 6,000 employees and more than 65 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. In 2009 and 2010, CertainTeed, which is headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., was named ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a national award that recognizes environmentally responsible corporations. The group had total sales of approximately $3 billion in 2009.
www.certainteed.com
For the second year in a row, McPherson CertainTeed Molded Products employees and community volunteers are taking healthy eating to a new level, planting another enormous LiveWell garden on land just one block from company property. This year’s 90-by 100-foot plot includes a new donated irrigation system from CertainTeed’s Pipe and Foundations McPherson Plant, employee-built tool shed with shingles donated by CertainTeed’s Roofing Products group and 21 different varieties of vegetables. All crops harvested will be available for employees, with a large portion designated for local shelter donation as well.
The LiveWell garden is named after CertainTeed’s LiveWell corporate healthy lifestyle program designed to create a culture of wellness in the workplace. Employees earn credits, which result in reduced benefits cost through participation in company-wide events throughout the year. Locally, the McPherson Wellness Team also creates additional events for employees to earn additional credits, with the garden included as a major credit enhancer.
And after the huge success of last year’s 50-by-75-foot plot which produced more than 60 pounds of potatoes, ten pounds of onions, 25 gallons of sweet potatoes, 80 watermelons, approximately 50 cantelope and a large corn harvest, the Garden team unanimously agreed they could do even better. The garden had more than met their goals of not only providing a plentiful amount of healthy food, but the benefits of exercise and stress relief that goes along with it.
Even before the first crops were picked, the Wellness team spread the word about the incentives to coworkers to help spur involvement and assistance in planting an even larger amount of crops next time — all while experiencing the same wellness rewards. Along with lofty harvest goals come unique ideas for future company gatherings.
“This year we have approximately 400 feet of corn, 300 feet of white and red potatoes, 70 feet of sweet potatoes. We also planted popcorn for something different,” says CertainTeed documentation specialist and wellness team member Gerry Lundy. “We thought it would be fun to pop up and share with employees at meetings.”
The LiveWell garden would not have been possible without the donation of community helpers’ time and equipment: The plot was generously loaned to the Wellness team by the county as a pilot project to observe symbiotic benefits when industry & local government cooperate on specific projects, and the county extension agent has also volunteered his time to give guidance on gardening best practices and pest control. In addition, a master plumber hooked up the waterline for the new irrigation system, and a local company provided free advice and parts for employees to implement the system; while another community volunteer used his own equipment to plow, till and fertilize the plot.
A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, the world’s largest building products company, CertainTeed and its affiliates have more than 6,000 employees and more than 65 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. In 2009 and 2010, CertainTeed, which is headquartered in Valley Forge, Pa., was named ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a national award that recognizes environmentally responsible corporations. The group had total sales of approximately $3 billion in 2009.
www.certainteed.com
