Milliken Receives Partnership Award from Georgia Forestry Commission
Published on Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:41 am
Source: Milliken/Press Release
Milliken Receives Partnership Award from Georgia Forestry Commission
(LaGrange, Georgia – November 20, 2007) Milliken & Company received the first Special Partnership Award from the Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) in recognition of its outstanding contributions to urban forestry. The presentation was made during the recent Georgia Urban Forest Council annual conference.
Pictured left to right: Steve Smith, Senior Forester, Georgia Forestry Commission Sustainable Community Forestry Program; David Caples, President of Milliken Floor Covering Division; Robert Farris, Interim Director, Georgia Forestry Commission; and Larry Morris, Associate Chief, GFC Sustainable Community Forestry Program.
“Our collaboration with Milliken & Company helped establish Making the Shade in Georgia. The Making the Shade pilot program started with three schools, including Franklin Forest Elementary in LaGrange, and is now rapidly spreading across the state using similar public-private partnership models,” said Larry Morris, Associate Chief, Sustainable Community Forestry Program, GFC.
Making the Shade increases safety on elementary school playgrounds through improved treescapes that add shade protection for days with high temperatures when equipment and playground surfaces can be hazardous. The program was launched on February 16 of this year, which coincided with Georgia’s Arbor Day.
“Adding shade trees addresses the unrecognized playground hazards of hot surfaces and air quality for elementary schools,” said President of Milliken Floor Covering Division David Caples, who accepted the award for the company. “Milliken supports safety and improved air quality, indoors and out through green products and community stewardship.”
The Special Partnership Award presented to Milliken is a framed painting of the September Elm growing in Rome, Georgia’s historic Myrtle Hill Cemetery. The limited edition print was taken from original artwork commissioned by the Georgia Urban Forest Council. The artist, Barry Nehr, is retired from the USDA Forest Service.
Milliken supports Making the Shade as an extension of its Trees For All initiative, reflecting concerns for healthy environments—indoors and out. The company’s patented bio-based TractionBack® installation process for modular carpet improves Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) by eliminating on-site adhesives and related off-gassing, allowing everyone to breathe easier.
Milliken Floor Covering (www.sustainablecarpet.com), based in LaGrange, Georgia, is an international manufacturer of carpet and rugs that shares an eco-heritage which has earned Milliken & Company global respect for sustainable leadership and innovation. Milliken, a carbon negative manufacturer, partners with national, state and community organizations through initiatives like Trees For All, to educate the supply chain about the benefits of planting trees.
The Georgia Forestry Commission provides leadership, service, and education in the protection and conservation of Georgia's forest resources.
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