Earth Day marked its 40-year anniversary this year as a worldwide event to raise awareness of the environment.

National Grid celebrated in style – and in force – as more than 1,000 employees across our US territory cleaned debris, cleared trails, planted flowers and more, at 23 different locations. In fact, this was the largest company volunteering event to date in the US, with employees channelling their enthusiasm for helping the environment, while supporting the company’s vision to ‘safeguard our global environment for future generations.’

Bill Sherry, Director, US Employee Volunteerism, explains, “While we’ve supported Earth Day for many years, 2009 was the first year we had an organized employee volunteering effort, and it’s been incredible to see participation increase three-fold this year!”

No matter which state you were in, it was hard to miss the hordes of determined employees taking over parks, beaches and schoolyards to help make a tangible and positive impact in local communities. Even the special Earth Day 2010 t-shirts employees wore had a connection to the community, as they featured the artwork of schoolchildren from within National Grid’s service areas in addition to identifying employees as proud National Grid volunteers.

“It’s clear to see that employees have a passion for volunteering,” says Bill. “With the amazing support we’ve received across all Lines of Business, there is no limit to what we can do.”

• Earth day projects included:
• Cleaning debris from local beaches and other areas
• Planting flowers and organic gardens
• Digging a new duck pond
• Clearing brush from trails
• Providing schoolchildren with seedlings in conjunction with Arbor Day
• Removing shrubs and non-native plants