Teams of Newport News shipbuilders volunteered their time and effort on Wednesday, April 22, to tackle various projects in honor of Earth Day.

Stephanie Stacy (X24), Jennifer Blake (X24) and Leonard Mitchell (X24) have volunteered together for three years now.

“It’s fun, and it’s an opportunity to give back to the planet. It provides for us, and we should provide for it,” Stacy said.

Mitchell added that he enjoys being outdoors and hopes that their actions inspire the community to take action.

This year’s projects included cleanups at Huntington Beach and along Washington Avenue, as well as cleanups and beautification efforts at Bldg. 600 and Bldg. 902, and resulted in approximately 1,200 pounds of trash collected by 170 volunteers.

Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston Operations also hosted a successful Earth Day cleanup. Led by Environmental, Health and Safety Manager Anthony Simmons, Charleston shipbuilders collected between 15,000 and 18,000 pounds of site debris, broken pallets and old dunnage, filling over 45 feet of two rollaway dumpsters.