Fri, Aug 3rd, 2012
Nine Athens Lowe’s associates and four family members volunteered with the Lowe’s Heroes Program at the Hocking College Nature Center on Thursday, August 2 to assist with the construction of a new outdoor turtle habitat.
The project aims to provide the community with more educational opportunities while giving the turtles increased UV exposure, making them healthier. Barry Unger, a Nature Center employee, contacted Lowe’s for advice on building the turtle garden, hoping for some guidance and the donation of some materials. Instead, store manager Don Richards noticed that the Nature Center’s project was a perfect fit for the Lowe’s Heroes Program, an initiative that provides local Lowe’s stores funds to assist their communities.
For the past seven years, Lowe’s in Athens has sponsored two to three projects a year through the Heroes Program, donating materials and manpower to local groups.
“We look for projects that affect the most people,” said Richards. “It’s a great thing to be able to do for the community.” Richards and a six-person committee chose the turtle garden out of a pool of 12 proposed projects because of its educational value and impact on the community.
Unger notes that, while living outdoors greatly benefits the turtles themselves, the turtle garden increases school field trip opportunities and improves outdoor study areas. He commented, “Kids can sit around the turtle garden and talk about what they are watching.” Lowe’s generous support of the Hocking College Nature Center will improve the facility for school field trips and other educational activities, Unger concluded.
The project aims to provide the community with more educational opportunities while giving the turtles increased UV exposure, making them healthier. Barry Unger, a Nature Center employee, contacted Lowe’s for advice on building the turtle garden, hoping for some guidance and the donation of some materials. Instead, store manager Don Richards noticed that the Nature Center’s project was a perfect fit for the Lowe’s Heroes Program, an initiative that provides local Lowe’s stores funds to assist their communities.
For the past seven years, Lowe’s in Athens has sponsored two to three projects a year through the Heroes Program, donating materials and manpower to local groups.
“We look for projects that affect the most people,” said Richards. “It’s a great thing to be able to do for the community.” Richards and a six-person committee chose the turtle garden out of a pool of 12 proposed projects because of its educational value and impact on the community.
Unger notes that, while living outdoors greatly benefits the turtles themselves, the turtle garden increases school field trip opportunities and improves outdoor study areas. He commented, “Kids can sit around the turtle garden and talk about what they are watching.” Lowe’s generous support of the Hocking College Nature Center will improve the facility for school field trips and other educational activities, Unger concluded.
