July 26, 2021
Alcoa rolls up sleeves for the environment
Alcoa is marking National Tree Day on 1 August by helping communities in the south west of Western Australia plant more than 110,000 seedlings this year.
National Tree Day is a call to all Australians to give back to the environment. Alcoa Australia Corporate Affairs Manager Suellen Jerrard said the company was doing this through funding supplied by its global charity the Alcoa Foundation and its Australian community investment program.
"We are proud to be partnering with a range of not-for-profit, environmental and community groups as well as the broader community on extensive planting efforts,” Mrs Jerrard said.
The community plantings are centred on communities near where Alcoa operates bauxite mines and alumina refineries in the Kwinana, Peel and Upper South West regions of WA as well as along the Swan and Canning catchments in the greater Perth metropolitan area.
Organisations Alcoa is partnering with include Perth NRM, Friends of the Spectacles, Peel-Harvey Catchment Council, Greening Australia and Birdlife Australia.
In many instances, Alcoa is not only providing funding for the planting events but also allowing its employees to volunteer during work hours to help get the seedings in the ground.
That includes a group of some 20 employees who rolled up their sleeves last Friday (23 July) to plant more than 1,000 seedlings on farmland north-west of Yarloop.
The planting event was organised by Birdlife Australia, which has partnered with Alcoa on a project to help the state’s endangered and threatened black cockatoo species. Over time, the planting will add to a biodiversity corridor in the area, providing important food and habitat for the troubled cockatoos.
“It was great to get out and get our hands dirty for a worthwhile cause, which is the betterment of our environment and the protection of our biodiversity,” Mrs Jerrard said.
Last year, Alcoa contributed about $4.3 million toward community projects in WA.
ENDS