Wheelabrator partners with the Wildlife Habitat Council as part of our commitment to the environment and promoting a sustainable future.
Three of our waste-to-energy facilities are certified through the Wildlife Habitat Council as Wildlife at Work and Corporate Lands for Learning sites. Wheelabrator views its wildlife sanctuaries as opportunities to provide for the needs of the local communities, resulting in a balance between the needs of industry, while enhancing wildlife benefits and increasing public access to vanishing habitats.
Wheelabrator Saugus Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary
The Wheelabrator Saugus Bear Creek Wildlife Sanctuary is a 370-acre property abutting a 2,274-acre estuary on the outskirts of Boston. The sanctuary has blossomed into one of the largest bird migration staging areas on the North Shore and a habitat for nearly 200 bird species, as well as other wildlife such as coyotes, foxes, raccoons and snakes. Visitors can enjoy the more than 14,000 feet of walking trails that permeate the site, a half-acre exhibit garden, and meeting and lecture areas, which are scattered throughout nine of the restored ecosystems.
Wheelabrator Falls Wildlife Sanctuary
Wheelabrator Falls maintains a 27-acre wildlife refuge that includes a butterfly haven and pollinator garden. The facility partners with various local organizations through its wildlife habitat, and also sponsors a butterfly habitat summer program with local students as well as the Student Conservation Association. Working with students from the Bucks County Technical School, the facility also constructed a butterfly house to be used for hands-on environmental learning.
Wheelabrator Gloucester Wildlife Sanctuary
Wheelabrator Gloucester established and maintains a wildlife refuge and nature trail on 150 acres of wetlands surrounding the waste-to-energy facility and is adjacent to the Delaware River and includes dry woodlands, grassy lawns, retention ponds, riparian forest and dredge soil, as well as a nature trail. Developed with the New Jersey Audubon Society and the Cape May Bird Observatory, the sanctuary has become a safe haven for native birds, such as a resident bald eagle. Butterfly houses were built along the trail to attract butterflies and provide them with a safe shelter from wind and predators. There are also viewing stations and signs along the trail. Wheelabrator Gloucester partners with organizations including the South Jersey Land and Water Trust, New Jersey Quail Project, Gloucester County Nature Club and South Jersey Quail Unlimited, and has taken a long-term approach to managing invasive plants and restoring native plants to the area – while greatly improving the habitat for local and migratory species.
