Fostering a better understanding of our industry
Wake Stone provides educational outreach to the geographic areas in which it operates as a service to those communities and to foster a better understanding of our industry. We strive to help those who work and live near our quarry locations to appreciate the importance of our natural resources as well as the measures we take to be responsible neighbors and stewards of the environment. These goals are achieved through a number of programs including: guided tours of facilities, participation in local “career day” programs, leadership roles in the N.C. Aggregates Association, donations to local schools and service organizations, assistance to State regulatory agencies, participation at the N.C. Science-Teacher Association Annual Conference, membership to local advisory councils and committees, and partnership with the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. Wake Stone has also provided resources for UNC-TV educational programming. We believe we have a responsibility to our industry to provide these services to our local communities.
Below is a brief description of each of the components of our educational outreach:
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Guided Tours
Tours of our facilities are available, free of charge, to schools near our quarries for students from Kindergarten to College. Tours typically last one to two hours. They are led by our company Geologists, and are scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis depending on staff availability. We have many schools that have a long-standing relationship with Wake Stone, who bring groups of students to one of our quarries every year. Most of our tours take place at our Knightdale Quarry, although tours are conducted at other locations on a limited basis. On average, we provide tours to 1,500-2,000 students per year.
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“Career Day” Programs
Wake Stone is periodically approached by local Middle and High Schools to participate in career day programs. Employees from multiple company departments have participated in these activities, discussing the many different job opportunities that our industry provides.
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NC Aggregates Association
Wake Stone representatives play a significant role in our state trade association, the North Carolina Aggregates Association. We work closely with other Association members on all levels, including the Executive, Environmental, Marketing and Technical, and Safety and Health Committees to address and resolve many of the challenges that face our industry. This often includes informing and educating people from outside our industry, including regulators and politicians.
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NC Science-Teacher Association
One of the many ways we work with the NC Aggregates Association, is by providing materials and volunteers for their Rock and Mineral Giveaway Exhibit at the NC Science-Teacher Association Annual Conference. The exhibit provides teachers with free “rock kits” (collections of rock samples from quarries all over the state), as well as videos, posters, literature, and other materials related to mining and minerals. Wake Stone provides rock samples from each NC operation as needed.
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Donations
Wake Stone frequently provides both monetary and material donations for a wide range of causes, including local municipal, school and church projects.
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State Regulatory Assistance
Wake Stone has a long history of working closely with those individuals who regulate our industry. This positive working relationship has allowed a partnership to develop in which regulators frequently request and are granted permission to use our facilities and the years of experience of our personnel to assist in the training of new employees, and to “test out” new programs and policy procedures.
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Advisory Roles
Wake Stone employees frequently serve on advisory and planning committees in various capacities. For many years, there has been a Wake Stone representative on the Umstead Park Advisory Committee as a corporate neighbor to the State Park.
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NC Museum of Natural Sciences
Wake Stone provided significant funding for the construction of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences as well as donating materials for their rock and mineral exhibits. We maintain several contacts at the museum, and we reach out to them periodically to see if there are any ways we can help them achieve their mission “to illuminate the interdependence of nature and humanity.”
Education Outreach FAQs
Who manages this program?
Management of our educational outreach is a joint effort. Many company Officers and managers play important roles in the various programs that make up our education and community outreach efforts. All inquiries may be directed to Cole Atkins (919-266-1100 or coleatkins@wakestonecorp.com), and he will connect you to someone who can assist.
Where are field trips conducted?
Most field trips are conducted at our Knightdale Quarry. However, we do offer limited opportunities to tour our other operations.
Who can come for tours?
We try to accommodate all requests from school groups. However, limited staffing prevents us from being able to provide more than one or two field trips per week.
When are requests for tours NOT accepted?
As a general rule, we do not accept requests for individuals to tour the quarries. We do encourage schools to invite parent chaperones to accompany school groups.
Additional considerations:
- There may be many dates when tour guides are not available and tours are not scheduled.
- Scheduled tours may also have to be cancelled or postponed due to unforeseen conflicts. Most tours that are rescheduled are due to adverse weather conditions.
- When possible, tours are scheduled for Thursdays and Fridays to reduce the potential for last minute conflicts to cause a cancellation.