Nielsen employees make impact at Itasca nature center
The Spring Brook Nature Center grounds in Itasca got some sprucing up Thursday courtesy of a volunteer group from the Nielsen company.
Roughly 150 employees from the worldwide data management and analytics company's Schaumburg site spent the day pulling weeds, collecting litter, painting, pruning and mulching.
“We have a companywide charity volunteer event on June 11 every year called Nielsen Global Impact Day,” said Jeff Henry, senior vice president of technology. “We're in 100 countries. Somewhere in 100 countries, there are our people doing this. It's pretty cool.”
Henry and several co-workers cleared out a large swath of ragweed from the meadow behind the nature center barn, repeatedly filling a wheelbarrow with the newly plucked invasive plants and taking the haul to a bin for composting.
“Last year, we painted that birdhouse,” said Henry, pointing to a large aviary adjacent the red barn.
With an overcast sky, moderate temperatures in the 70s and a hint of possible precipitation in the air, the group of technical professionals worked diligently.
“The only way to get rid of (ragweed) is manual labor,” said Kevin Kautz, bending over to grab another plant with his gloved hand.
“We'll go back to work with a new appreciation for our jobs,” said Dan Lewis.
Kautz said he recently moved from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he worked for Nielsen and also participated in Global Impact Day in a different capacity.
“I went to a food bank every year,” he said.
Fred Maier, the nature center's environmental services coordinator, said this year's Nielsen projects included spreading wood chips on nature trails, mulching and pruning trees, cutting out buckthorn thickets, pulling ragweed and collecting litter.
Maier said he's grateful the Nielsen group has returned to Spring Brook for several years to help renovate and restore.
“You guys are literally saving the day,” he told Henry's group of ragweed pullers. “You are setting the ragweed back by about a month.”
This year, a wooden bridge that spans Spring Brook and connects the nature center to hiking trails and the Itasca Park District Water Park got a new look.
A team of Nielsen employees, each wearing a blue T-shirt with the word “Volunteer” printed on the back and the Nielsen corporate logo on the front, applied a coat of stain to the bridge.
“I think it's an incredible opportunity to give back to the community and I appreciate that Nielsen emphasizes the importance of giving back,” said Keelan Murphy, as she applied stain to the bridge's central landing. “I love painting.”
A few feet away, her co-worker, Mohammed Wahid, painted the bridge railing.
“I wanted to participate in making an impact,” said Wahid, adding that last year his group concentrated on trimming foliage and low-hanging tree branches.
Another group inspected the trails and scooped up debris into a wheelbarrow.
“We're picking up garbage and making sure the trails are clean,” said Dave Suwanski. “It's nice to do something as a group that benefits the community. It's nice to share something that's not work-related with work people.”