Dominion Volunteers Spread Out Across Nine States To Aid Environment

RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Beaches, parks, wetlands, bays, gardens and conservation areas will benefit from the hard work and care of Dominion volunteers in nine states as the company begins its annual fall campaign, "Putting Our Energy to Work for the Environment."

The campaign, in its 13^th year, is funded by the Dominion Foundation, the company's philanthropic organization. The company allows employees to complete a volunteer project on a normal workday and the foundation provides $2,500 for materials and supplies to complete the work.

"This is a grassroots effort driven by our volunteers at locations where we have business operations," said Virginia M. Board, president of the Dominion Foundation. "The communities benefit not only from the financial support of the foundation, but also the sweat equity of the volunteers."

Since the program started in 2000, more than 5,600 employees have volunteered and 168 projects have been completed. This year, more than 450 employees will volunteer.

Most of the projects will be completed in October. This year's projects include:

• In Connecticut, building bridges, benches and overlook platforms at the Lyme Land Conservation area in Lyme.
• In Maryland, removing storm debris from streams and beaches and restoring observation decks at Calvert Cliffs State Park in Calvert County.
• In Massachusetts, improving trails at the Chase Preserve in Somerset.
• In North Carolina, working in partnership with the Nature Conservancy to establish oyster beds in Albemarle Sound at Nags Head.
• In Ohio, building picnic tables and stone walkways at Camp Ho-Mita-Koda in Newbury and restoring wetlands for the Grand Lake Restoration Commission-St. Mary's in Lima.
• In Pennsylvania, beautify gardens and trails at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh.
• In Rhode Island, building a split rail fence and weeding, mulching and pruning the rain garden at Riverside Park in Providence.
• In Virginia, building a greenhouse at the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Fishersville; creating trails at the Fauquier County Public Schools Outdoor Lab; retrofitting a rainscape project for the Friends of the Rappahannock in Fredericksburg; harvesting bamboo and using it to line a chain-link fence at the Richmond Neighborhood Resource Center; building an outdoor classroom at St. Joseph's Villa in Richmond; restoring trials damaged by Hurricane Irene and installing erosion barriers at Voorhees Nature Preserve in Westmoreland County; building a fence around the educational garden at Waller Mill Park in Williamsburg.
• In West Virginia, building decks and porches at Camp Mar-Mac in Farmington.

Dominion (NYSE: D) is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 28,000 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage system and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com. 

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SOURCE Dominion