The giving trees of Irapuato

July 21, 2011

General Mills Corporate Communications

It’s safe to say no one in the company likes trees more than the General Mills employees and their families at our facility in Irapuato in the agricultural region of south central Mexico.    Last month, employees and their families planted about 740 native trees in the foothills of nearby Guanajuato City – the latest in a series of reforestation projects the plant has undertaken for more than a decade.

They have planted trees on the boulevard in front of the facility, in a local school yard and in what was once known as “Gigante Verde” (Green Giant) forest. The city of Irapuato recently honored the plant with an environmental award for its commitment to sustainability.

Employees currently have more than 11,000 trees – all germinated from seeds – in varying degrees of development in Green Giant greenhouses just waiting to be planted when the time is right.

A family affair “Trees are our passion and planting them throughout the community is our way of doing what we can to protect the environment and preserve the soil that is so important to our business,” says Emilio Lacedelli, the plant manager in Irapuato. “For us it literally is a family affair.”

The devotion to trees began about 15 years when the plant, which packs vegetables for Green Giant, Progresso and Small Planet Foods, and Smoothies for Yoplait, was looking for a way to use its extra greenhouse space.

The plant uses its greenhouses to germinate vegetable plants, which are then planted and grown by local farmers. When the plants mature, the farmers bring the produce back to the plant for processing and export. The process leaves some greenhouses empty at times.

Reversing deforestation  Two General Mills employees, including an agronomist, had a keen interest in the native flora and fauna of the region. They were concerned about the long-term impact of deforestation and suggested that the open space in greenhouses could be used for germinating tree seedlings.

That may sound easy, but it’s very labor-intensive to condition the seeds, get them to germinate, transplant them into individual pots, then care from them until they reach a height of 4 to 5 feet so they can be planted.

Hundreds of employees and their families have volunteered over the years to nurture ash, pine, pirul, mesquite, jacaranda, huisache and others seedlings to life.

And there is no end in sight.

The employees hope to plant 1,500 trees every year for at least the next decade. 

 

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