Faces of GM

Mark: creating urban wildlife habitats at work

April 1, 2010 at 1:36 pm

Mark D. Fischer, Senior Environmental Engineer at GM Powertrain transmission plant, Warren, Mich. (The plant builds transmissions for the Chevy Malibu, Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain.)

Vital stats: Married with two daughters, ages 15 and 13
Education: Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Environmental Health and Master of Science degree in Hazardous Waste Management
Passions:  I enjoy fishing and hunting and the great outdoors. I love coaching basketball, soccer and track. And, I enjoy community involvement activities, such as water sampling on the Clinton River Watershed in Michigan with local students, and leading Earth Day activities at local schools.  Our staff at work also hosts annual Household Collection Days for plant employees to bring in chemicals, paints, and oil from home to be properly disposed of and/or recycled.

As an environmental engineer, it’s my job to handle all the environmental aspects of a manufacturing plant – whether it’s waste elimination or using less energy.  For example, we are able to generate enough energy from our plant waste in Warren, Mich., to provide electricity for 11 Michigan homes for one year.  And, I look at the habitat at Warren Transmission as a reflection of me, the plant, and the community and how nature can bring out the best in people.  It can also provide educational opportunities to people who have never been exposed to nature or maybe never thought a small parcel of land could hold so many different things. 

Mark sharing with students on Earth Day

Back in 2005, we started discussing making part of our plant site a wildlife habitat. You don’t see that very often in an urban environment. I worked with my boss, Sue Kelsey, and my counterpart AT, Asefaw Teclegorgis, an environmental engineer.

We partnered with Martha Gruelle of the local Wildlife Habitat Council, and John Pomante of Macomb County Chapter of Pheasants Forever, and the plant staff and plant employees of Local 909.

We prepared the soil, removed rocks and steel, picked up debris, planted warm season grasses and wildflower, planted pines, and installed bat houses, bird houses, and a bird feeder.

In December 2009, Robert Johnson, President of the Wildlife Habitat, toured the site and gave us additional pointers and kudos for the work we’ve done.

I envision the site to be used as an educational resource to local students or groups, like the Girl Scouts or Cub Scouts, etc. because it tell a story about how a little bit of nature is right here, locally.  I get great pleasure in seeing this project grow, and look forward to opportunities for improvement.  It is cool seeing the wildlife habitat change, like change of seasons, in southeast Michigan.