Want to Connect Kids to Nature – Connect to Some Great Companies and NWF Members

With kids spending 7 hours a day watching TV, playing video games and other electronic distractions, it is critical that everyone joins the effort to get kids outside and connected nature. NWF is proud to have created a partnership with a great company, Taco, to advance this initiative and to increase the number of Eco-Schools in the region.

NWF Member In Action

Like many great things, it all started with a NWF member: Kyle Adamonis, who leads Taco’s Human Resources Department. Kyle has been a NWF member for over 20 years and over lunch recalled how her love for nature was kindled by spending time with her brother in the backyard endlessly exploring a local pond. It is great to hear these stories and demonstrates that no matter where you end up in life, we all can play a big part in protecting wildlife and connecting kids to nature.

Taco’s Sustainability Committment Runs Deep

Taco’s commitment to high quality products and environmental stewardship comes across in everything they do. Taco manufactures amazing HVAC equipment (pumps, etc) that reduce water and energy use in residential, commercial and institutional buildings.

I visited their new LEED Gold Innovation Center in Cranston, Rhode Island and made two presentations to their staff. The facility is awe-inspiring with many new energy efficiency technologies and light that shines through the whole building. The 24,037-square foot addition opened this year is a state-of-the-art learning and training environment, complete with new classroom spaces, conference rooms, a business center, and functional labs for testing and teaching. Taco’s is a great example of American knowhow that is creating good-paying American jobs. Taco also has another manufacturing facility in Fall River, Massachusetts and recently acquired Hydroflo, another industry leader in energy- and water-efficient equipment.

Bringing It All Together

To bring it all together, NWF’s Eastern Vice-Chair Paul Beaudette, a former high school teacher down the road from Taco’s corporate headquarters, joined us. Paul shared some of his favorite spots in the area to connect to nature which brought it all home.

After making two presentations to approximately 60 members of their staff and members of the White Family Foundation (established in 2000 by the late John and Happy White), we proudly accepted a $5,000 donation to NWF. This great connection was made by NWF’s Philanthropy Officer, Tim Brady (bradyt@nwf.org), who reached out to Kyle.

If you work for a great company like Taco or simply want to make a contribution to the Northeast’s conservation work, please email me (fisherc@nwf.org) or Libby Guglin (gugline@nwf.org).