Kids & Family
Caterpillar Executives Put Down Roots in the Athens Community
A team prepares a space for planting an orchard at Clarke Middle School.
What happens when large equipment, a group of corporate executives, a local nonprofit and a UGA professor come together? Apparently, the installation of an orchard results from the convergence of these forces...or, at least, that's what happened when 14 Caterpillar executives descended upon Clarke Middle School last Monday evening.
With project coordination provided by Community Connection through its TeamServe program, in just two and a half hours, the group of Caterpillar VP's prepared the ground for the school’s new orchard, mulched the existing trees on the property and removed unwanted debris in preparation for the new school year.
This recent project is just another example of Caterpillar living out its espoused values. An executive training brought the group to the Athens area, and to the Athens-Oconee plant, and they decided to set aside one evening to give back to the local community.
Caterpillar contacted Community Connection for assistance in organizing a volunteer experience, and Community Connection responded. Through its TeamServe program Community Connection provides personalized project planning and volunteer-based team building opportunities for groups, teams and companies of all sizes. Most TeamServe projects come complete with lunch or dinner. Food for Monday's Caterpillar event was provided by Heirloom Cafe.
Over the course of their two and a half hour service, the Caterpillar volunteers dug and prepared 20 six-foot holes where pear, apple and pomegranate trees, among other varieties, will be planted by Clarke Middle students in the Fall. One of Caterpillar's products, a backhoe loader, was operated by company employee Doug McCallen. The machine made the breaking of the concrete-like Georgia clay seem effortless, while volunteers filled the holes with compost and tilled and mulched them in preparation for planting.
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The installation of this orchard is made possible by a $5,000 grant received by Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful. Ultimately, an additional orchard will also be planted at Coile Middle School through the same grant opportunity.
The orchard is a joint effort between KACCB, the Community Tree Council, ACC Cooperative Extension, CCSD Agriculture Programs and the local UPS Customer Service Center. The edible plantings will benefit students of the Clarke County School District for many years to come. The orchards are intended to provide teachers with outdoor learning space to teach the environmental and economic significance of green spaces, while also providing area students with an additional source of fresh, locally grown fruits and nuts.
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