Volunteers participate in cleanup

St. Charles, LA - March 09, 2006

Teams of volunteers from Dow, Motiva Norco Refinery and Valero, along with other volunteers, participated on March 4 in “Clearing New Paths for the Future,” an effort to restore the LaBranche Wetlands after Hurricane Katrina.

The Hurst Middle School LaBranche Wetland Watchers, led by teacher Barry Guillot, has been working with the community and local industry teams to complete the wetlands project, which will provide boardwalk nature trails, a fishing pier, sheltered picnic tables, a playground and an outdoor classroom. The project was set back significantly by damage to the wetlands caused by Hurricane Katrina. Dow, Motiva and Valero provided cutting crews, who went in first to chainsaw through the tangled mess of downed trees, vines and palmetto. The clean up crews then went to work removing the remaining branches and trash stren across the nature trails and adjoining wetlands.  More than 225 volunteers participated in the cleanup, including 60 students from Hurst Middle School. “The outpouring of support has been incredible,” said Guillot. “We had volunteers from New York, Nebraska, California and from all over the state. People have just given so much support to this project. The nature trails look better than they ever have.”

Dow employee Richard Hamilton volunteered for the first time at the event. “After the storm, I worked on cleanup of my own house, which was very therapeutic. That’s part of the reason I volunteered at the wetlands. It was a good feeling, getting out and feeling like I was contributing to the area.”  Along with the volunteer teams, Dow also provided funding for the refreshments and lunch served to the mass of workers participating in the event.

The LaBranche Wetland project, founded on 18 acres of land donated by the Pontchartrain Levee District, has received a $20,000 grant from the Dow Chemical Company Foundation to establish a permanent facility. The outdoor classroom hosts student groups and includes fish and wildlife identifications stations and other outdoor learning tools. The highlights of the project are the nature trails and the boardwalk through the wetlands. Every year, more than 1,000 area middle schoolers participate in activities such as water quality monitoring, soil and plant identification, tree planting and litter cleanup. Seventh grade students at Harry Hurst teach the programs and lead the activities.

The American Association of School Administrators recently awarded the St. Charles Parish Schools with its 2006 National Civic Star Award for the LaBranche Wetland Watcher program. The award honors excellence in school district and community partnerships that enrich student achievement and academics. Both the school district and the district’s scholarship fund receive $5,000 as part of the award.

Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of science and technology to improve living daily. The Company offers a broad range of innovative products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $46 billion and employs 42,000 people worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.  St. Charles Operations is owned by Union Carbide Corporation, which is a subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company.

	Dow volunteers at the LaBranche Wetland Watcher cleanup event on March 4.

For Editorial Information:

Jolen T. Stein
St. Charles Operations
(985) 783-4990