ATC

Party for the Planet draws thousands to celebrate events sponsored by American Transmission Co.

ATC sponsored the Milwaukee County Zoo’s Party for the Planet for the eleventh year on May 14 and 15, which featured three different activities that drew in nearly 10,000 visitors to the Zoo.

The theme of this year’s event focused on pollinator education and the Grow Smart program, which advocates planting low-growing, native species under power lines. One event featured a child-friendly pollinator game to help visitors understand the benefits of pollinators and offered children the opportunity to mark their fingerprints on pollinator-shaped art.

Gardening expert and horticulturist Melinda Myers also was on site, assisting children and their families by planting native species at the ATC-sponsored Butterfly Garden. The garden was established in 2015 by ATC in an effort to attract pollinators, and visitors this year helped revitalize the garden by planting additional perennials and flowering annuals.

In coordination with the Milwaukee County Zoo Forester and other volunteers, Slinger Boy Scout Troop #731 braved unseasonably cool spring temperatures to plant more than 50 trees and shrubs near Lake Evinrude. This is the third year that ATC has provided support to the Zoo for removing damaged and invasive species on the Zoo’s property. Funding also is used toward replacing the invasive species with native trees and shrubs.

Despite the cool weather, much of the success for the ATC-sponsored events was due to the nearly dozen ATC employee volunteers who provided assistance to visitors at the event over the weekend.

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