1 Vol. 3, No. 1 January 2011 - Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems

greeNG/SAFETY/SECURITY NEWS
A
Oasis in the Desert
AMY AKMAL
What causes an oasis to bloom in the desert?
Just ask greeNG volunteers at the Palmdale
site.
Nestled in the arid and perpetually windy
Antelope Valley, the hotbed of some of our nation’s finest
aviation and aerospace feats, the site is breaking new
ground on another front: the company’s greeNG efforts.
Palmdale boasts the sector’s fastest-growing greeNG
Employee Resource Group and leads in fostering employee
engagement through its community relations efforts.
In November, 50 volunteers gathered for the site’s
first-ever “Adopt-A-Lot” initiative to pick up litter in
the Amargosa Creek basin and a neglected lot in the
neighboring city of Lancaster.
Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris assisted with cleanup efforts.
“We have come to the realization that the city can’t do
everything by itself,” Parris said. “We all have to pitch in to
have a clean city, and this is a great example of that.
Thank you.”
“Green” has been a best practice at the Palmdale site
for years. For more than two years, air conditioning gray
water has been reclaimed to create a lawn to help control
dust and improve air quality; 60 percent of the site has
already been retrofitted with energy-saving lighting;
and eco-friendly programs, such as appliance trade-ins,
Christmas tree light exchanges and the development
of community gardens in impoverished areas, are well
under way.
Deputy Site Manager Andy Reynolds echoed the
sentiments of Parris at Amargosa Creek. “Palmdale
is an engineering and manufacturing site, and we
constantly seek ways to reduce waste and preserve
our environment,” Reynolds said. “It certainly is a
group effort, and our volunteers demonstrate our
commitment to the environment as well as to our
community.”
Palmdale greeNG team member Joe Green helps
clean up trash in the Amargosa Creek basin.
Palmdale greeNG team members gather with Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris
after cleaning the half-mile stretch of Amargosa Creek.
Photos by Rebecca Amber, Aerotech News
Lancaster Mayor Rex Parris joined the greeNG team in its cleanup efforts.
18 Aerospace Now January 2011
January 2011 Aerospace Now 19