PLAINFIELD, Ind. – In the future, it might be easier to find a little shade in Clifty Creek Park in Columbus.
Fall is an ideal time to plant new trees, and Duke Energy volunteers added 50 trees ranging from Tulip Poplars and Bald Cypress to Yellow Buckeyes and Northern Pecans
to the park today.
The effort is one of the company’s Indiana Care4Environment projects.
Duke Energy Indiana President Melody Birmingham-Byrd led a group of approximately 50 company employees who planted the trees and also removed some diseased Bore Ash trees.
“Our employees give back year-round, but each year we have several large-scale projects like this one,” said Chip Orben, Duke Energy’s Columbus community relations manager. “We wanted to add something to Columbus that has a lasting impact.”
Columbus Mayor Jim Lienhoop stopped by to greet the volunteers.
“Columbus is fortunate to have two great community partners here today, said Lienhoop, “and both are employers of choice, Duke Energy and Toyota.”
Employees from the Toyota forklift plant in Columbus also joined the Duke Energy employees for the tree-planting project.
So far this year, Duke Energy’s Indiana employees have logged more than 7,600 hours of volunteer time in their communities. Duke Energy encourages its employees to roll up their sleeves and support grassroots, community projects. Working under the banner “Duke Energy in Action,” employees and retirees statewide decide how to dedicate their time, and their projects are as diverse as the company’s employee base. Their initiatives have ranged from building a playground at a shelter for domestic violence victims, to tackling needed repairs at an animal rescue center.
Duke Energy Indiana
Duke Energy Indiana’s operations provide about 7,100 megawatts of owned electric capacity to approximately 810,000 customers in a 23,000-square-mile service area, making it the state’s largest electric supplier.
Duke Energy, one of the largest electric power holding companies in the United States, supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 7.4 million customers in the Southeast and Midwest, representing a population of approximately 24 million people. The company also distributes natural gas to more than 1.5 million customers in the Carolinas, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee. Its commercial and international businesses operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing renewable energy portfolio.
Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is an S&P 100 Stock Index company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at duke-energy.com.
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