Earth Data Completes Trail Maintenance at Pickering Creek Audubon Center

Earth Data recently completed trail maintenance at Pickering Creek Audubon Center as part of its Earth Data Gives program. The Center’s property features a variety of habitats including mature hardwood forest, fresh and brackish marsh, meadow, tidal and non-tidal wetlands, over a mile of shoreline on a tidal creek, and cropland.

Pictured front row, left to right, are Tina Wright and Shawn Stabile. Pictured back row, left to right, are Jeff Chipman, Scott Wolf, Jake Bram, Ron McDonald, Mark Williams, Kalya Warhola, Jennifer Marshall, and Ted Trumbull.

The Earth Data Gives program was started by the company to give back to the community. Over the years, Earth Data employees have helped support the health of the Chesapeake Bay, Cub Scouts’ summer camps, ending the global vision epidemic, stocking fish with the Department of Natural Resources, building oyster cages, and providing CarePacks to local students.

Pictured is Jeff Chipman.

“Earth Data believes that giving makes our communities thrive, our employees passionate about more than work, and Earth Data an encouragement to those around us. Pickering Creek is an important environmental nonprofit that is teaching about the importance of environmental stewardship – something my employees care a lot about,” said Mark Williams, CEO, of Earth Data, Inc.

Samantha Pitts, Community Partnerships Coordinator, at Pickering Creek Audubon Center, said that Earth Data brought an energetic crew of 10 volunteers to do trail maintenance at the Center’s site in Easton.

“The Earth Data employees worked together well as individual volunteers and great as a team. They brought cheer and joy to the job and I feel like they enjoyed it too.  The trail looked fantastic when they were done,” she stated.

Pitts shared that Pickering Creek Audubon Center is committed to maintaining its trails for visitor use. The organization’s mission is to conserve natural habitats on Maryland’s Eastern Shore by engaging and empowering the community through exploration, education, and stewardship. Volunteers donate thousands of hours each year maintaining trails, monitoring the 60 nest box Eastern Bluebird trail, implementing habitat restoration projects, and tending the gardens, buildings, and grounds.

Pictured left to right are Jennifer Marshall, Tina Wright, and Kayla Warhola.

“We enjoy having organizations like Earth Data volunteer with us. It was especially nice that they reached out to us and share our environmental values. That’s important to us,” she added.

In addition to giving back through its environmental work, the Earth Data Giving Program encourages all Earth Data Incorporated employees to help others. It provides employees with paid public-service hours for volunteer work done to support local charities and others, such as helping feed school kids on the weekends, cleaning hiking trails, supporting elementary school reading programs, and teaching kids about the world around them by using maps and GIS.