By Susan Ballentine, NBC Universal
The NBC Universal volunteers were ready to roll. All of us boarding the big buses, donning our Green is Universal.com t-shirts, gloves in hand, hats and lots of smiles. The excitement on the bus was contagious - like when we were kids heading out for a school field trip. As we arrived at Griffith Park, the sun was warm and the air was crisp. The folks from the LA Conservation Corps, LA City PRec and Parks, LA City Councilmember Tom LaBonge and our company President, Ron Meyer were happy to see us and we were happy to be there.
The NBC Universal volunteers were ready to roll. All of us boarding the big buses, donning our Green is Universal.com t-shirts, gloves in hand, hats and lots of smiles. The excitement on the bus was contagious - like when we were kids heading out for a school field trip. As we arrived at Griffith Park, the sun was warm and the air was crisp. The folks from the LA Conservation Corps, LA City PRec and Parks, LA City Councilmember Tom LaBonge and our company President, Ron Meyer were happy to see us and we were happy to be there.
We were taught how to properly plant a tree so it will grow big and strong, what plants were indigenous to the area and we identified weeds that needed to be pulled. The area had been devastated by fire the year before, yet Mother Earth always prevails, as the color green was pushing through the charred area.
It was a wonderful experience to know that what we were doing for a few hours that day will make a difference in the air that we breathe and maintaining the beauty of what we Los Angelinos refer to as our "Central Park". When our job was complete, we proudly stood by the trees that we so enthusiastically planted and viewed the area that we cleared and felt proud of all our hard work. The camaraderie of the NBC Universal employees is what this job is all about.
Susan Ballentine
Transportation Manager
NBC Universal
It was a fantastic day! Thanks so much to everyone who worked so hard...can't wait to go visit all your trees this summer!
I was PROUD looking at the 2 trees I helped plant in Griffith Park...I was telling everybody how great it made me feel. At one point, I was walking down the hill and an older gentleman at the Tennis Courts asked me what's going on?? I told him we were voluneers from NBC UNIVERSAL and we here to plant trees and clear some brush. He said that's GREAT and THANK YOU TO YOU AND YOUR COMPANY for getting involved!!!