Environmental

The mission of the facility’s wildlife management plan is to expand biological diversity and improve habitat quality on-site, while engaging and educating the local community on vital environmental principles.

With the assistance of a number of community volunteers, the wildlife team built and installed a chimney swift tower, screech owl boxes, gray fox dens and a purple martin house. It has also created a 10-acre habitat area, including a refurbished barn that serves as a wildlife habitat center for volunteer and learning activities. The team also excavated and created a small pond to provide water and high-quality aquatic habitat in this portion of the property, planted a pollinator garden here, and removed invasive species from a number of areas.

Waste Management elected to give its community partners and volunteers a major voice in selecting projects, and activities have drawn participation by a large and growing number of local organizations, including three local elementary schools, the Houston Zoo, Texas Parks & Wildlife, and Texas Master Naturalists.

On September 24th, 2010, The Wildlife Habitat Council sent notification that the Wildlife at Work program - WM Atascocita Recycling & Disposal Facility - is officially certified.

Arbor Day

The “Green Thumb Grant” is an initiative funded by Waste Management through Keep Houston Beautiful and awards grants to neighborhood beautification projects.  Waste Management along with employee volunteers, the local boy scouts and Keep Houston Beautiful, planted 5,000 trees in the esplanades along Will Clayton parkway with grant funds from this initiative.

Wildlife Habitat

The site of the Atascocita Wildlife Habitat (AWH) consists of approximately 10 acres of coastal prairie on the northeast corner of the property. The site holds areas of upland savannah forest, floodplain forest, ephemeral pools, and a detention pond knows to attract waterfowl, wading birds, and small mammals.

AWH is working with several community partners to makes improvements on this habitat and promote use for outdoor classroom type facilities for the local schools.

If you are interested in learning more about or becoming involved with the AWH, contact Dixie Meynier at dmeynier@wm.com.

Barn in Habitat Before

Barn in Habitat After

 
Several Texas Master Naturalists and Waste Management employees worked with the Zoo Conservation Crew to build a Chimney Swift Tower at Atascocita Wildlife Habitat.

Ryan Zarella, a life scout from Boy Scout Troop 1333 completed his eagle scout project building Screech Owl nesting boxes and putting them up at the Atascocita Wildlife Habitat.