— Photo courtesy National Charity League ©
Employees at a local nature center will now be able to reduce their carbon footprint even more by completing their errands via bicycle, thanks to a charitable group of mothers and daughters.
The Newport chapter of the National Charity League recently donated two giant escape hybrid bikes to the Environmental Nature Center
The bikes will provide a cost-effective and environmentally friendly mode of transportation to the ENC employees, explained Melody Robinson, a member of the NCL Philanthropy Committee.
Volunteers and employees will be able to use the bikes for local errands, she explained, like visiting the market or picking up the mail.
“The ENC is about preserving our environment,” Robinson said, and the bikes will help do just that, she added.
The Environmental Nature Center’s mission is to provide quality education through hands-on experience with nature. It serves more than 21,000 students and thousands of visitors annually, according to its website.
The ENC is one of many philanthropies located throughout Orange County the league supports. Many of the girls volunteer there and help with the ENC’s junior naturalist program and its faire event.
The ENC is always appreciative of the girls, she said, they get a great reception.
It’s also a great experience for the young women, she added.
“It’s fulfilling for our girls,” Robinson said.
They get to help out in their own backyard, she continued, and preserve the area they live and play in.
Funds were raised through the NCL’s thrift shop, where both mothers and daughters from the group work alongside each other.
“It’s about setting a good example and doing (the work) with them,” she added. “It makes us, as moms, responsible and accountable for giving back to our community.”
The shop sells clothing and other items that have been donated from NCL members.
Robinson contacted Lori Whalen, ENC Education & Community Relations Director, and asked for a “wish list” for the ENC, she explained, and the need for bikes was noted.
They were purchased from local bike shop, Two Wheels, One Planet, in Costa Mesa. The shop gave a NCL a discount on the bikes, Robinson explained. A basket was attached to one and saddlebags to the other.
The bikes were presented to the nature center in early May.
“Now we can get around even MORE sustainably!” ENC employees exclaimed on the center’s facebook page.
For more information, visit nclnewport.org and encenter.org.
