SEATTLE, Wash., Aug. 29, 2011 — When CH2M HILL leaders gathered in Seattle recently, they took time to set down their Blackberrys® in order to remove blackberries – and other invasive plant species – during a community service project.

Approximately 50 CH2M HILL team members in town for a company professional development meeting volunteered on behalf of the Cascade Land Conservancy for the Aug. 25 project at the Cheasty Greenspace at Mt. View. They spent about three hours – a total of 150 volunteer hours – removing invasive plant species such as Himalayan Blackberry and continued trail construction and maintenance on the 43-acre wildlife habitat.

“CH2M HILL is a company leading by example and giving back to its community,” says Gene Duvernoy, Cascade Land Conservancy president. “The Cascade Land Conservancy and the Green Seattle Partnership were honored to host the CH2M HILL leaders who volunteered for a day of restoration work at Cheasty Greenspace. Their great work is part of a citywide program to restore the rapidly declining forested parklands that exemplify Seattle.”

Elisa M. Speranza, president of CH2M HILL’s Operations & Maintenance Business Group, which held the Seattle meeting, says this type of community service is part of the corporate culture.

“CH2M HILL and our employees – collectively and individually – actively participate in a variety of service projects in the communities across the county where we work and live,” Speranza says. “When we have leadership meetings such as the one we just concluded in Seattle, we like to take that commitment a step further and organize a specific community project related to our visit whenever possible.”

The project at Cheasty Greenspace ties in perfectly with CH2M HILL’s commitment to sustainability and the environment, adds
Scott Haskins, vice president and Seattle resident who took part in the project. The company ranks as the top environmental firm
for 2011 by Engineering News-Record.

“We not only constantly look at ways to reduce our own environmental footprint, we also help our clients around the world implement leading-edge sustainable solutions to meet their unique triple-bottom-line goals for social, financial and environmental success,” says Haskins.

The project gave volunteers an opportunity to learn more about the role of urban forests and the importance of ongoing restoration. This kind of work not only repairs the urban ecosystem by cleaning our air and capturing stormwater, it also restores communities and quality of life by transforming a neglected greenspace into a positive gathering place and source of neighborhood pride.

“It is such a beautiful urban natural space; it’s hard to believe that just three years ago it was a much different, far less inviting place that it is today,” says Scott O’Donnell, project manager in Topock, Calif. “It was great to have the opportunity to enhance the hard work already put into the greenspace so others may enjoy it for generations to come.”

Topock, Calf., project manager Scott O'Donnell helps move gravel that will be used for trail construction
at Seattle's Cheasty Greenspace, site of CH2M HILL leadership community service project Aug. 25

Headquartered near Denver, Colo., USA, employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in consulting, design, design-build, operations, and program management for government, civil, industrial and energy clients. The firm’s work is concentrated in the
areas of water, transportation, environmental, energy, facilities and resources. With US$6.3 billion in revenue and 23,000 employees, CH2M HILL is an industry-leading program management, construction management and design firm, as ranked by Engineering News-Record and named a leader in sustainable engineering by Verdantix. The firm has been named a FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For five times. Visit us at www.ch2mhill.com,twitter.com/ch2mhill and facebook.com/ch2mhill.