Earth Day is an annual event held on April 22 to learn about ways to protect our environment. Throughout the month, employees across our locations planned ways to celebrate, educate and make an impact. Check out the variety of Earth Day activities in the communities where we live and work.

Catlettsburg refinery employees volunteered for an Earth Day cleanup event at the Savage Branch Wildlife Reserve, a 340-acre wildlife habitat in Kentucky that is owned and managed by Marathon Petroleum. Employees helped prepare the reserve and outdoor education spaces for school field trips.

Cincinnati Biodiesel Facility employees volunteered to help a 1^st grade class at the Oyler School celebrate Earth Day. Marathon Petroleum also provided lunch for the students, teachers and aides.

Denver Office employees hosted an Earth Day education event featuring 811 Safe Digging, water conservation and air quality programs, and ENERGY STAR® and other energy efficiency initiatives.

Detroit refinery employees planted about 100 trees in the green space buffer near the refinery with help from Wildlife Habitat Council and DTE Energy.

The El Paso refinery donated $25,000 to establish the EP TreeKeepers Program in partnership with the City of El Paso, Texas. The program will work to provide new trees in areas lacking tree canopies.

The Findlay Office hosted an Earth Day celebration, where over 450 employees attended to learn about companywide sustainability efforts. In honor of National Safe Digging Month, attendees received blue spruce saplings and education on calling 811 before planting trees and conducting outdoor projects. Employees took part in a plant swap to exchange healthy plants for their homes.  

Galveston Bay refinery employees celebrated Earth Day with the finalization of a community investment grant from Marathon Petroleum totaling $90,000 for the Galveston Bay Foundation’s Blue Carbon project. The money will support efforts to protect the Chocolate Bay Preserve in the West Galveston Bay Conservation Corridor, including wetlands and marshes that create a natural barrier of protection against hurricanes.

The Los Angeles refinery hosted events at both its Carson and Wilmington sites. Employees and contractors were invited to participate in the E-Waste Collection events to recycle electronics.

Marathon Pipe Line field offices and pipeline operations centers celebrated Earth Day with pizza, safe digging materials, biodiversity-related information, and chocolate shovels to celebrate National Safe Digging Month.

MPLX’s Bluestone Plant in Pennsylvania partnered with Zelienople Community Park to clean up the flower beds, spread mulch and plant flowers. MPLX donated gardening tools and mulch to support the project.

MPLX’s Cadiz Administration Building and Hopedale Facility employees worked together to clean up Tappan Lake and Clendening Lake parks in Ohio.

MPLX’s Houston Plant in Pennsylvania cleaned up several miles of roadway around the plant.

MPLX’s Majorsville Plant cleaned the greenspace around Dunkard Fork Lake in West Virginia and picked up trash along the road and other areas near the plant.

MPLX’s Mobley Plant cleaned and restored the field, playground and nature trail behind Short Line Elementary School in West Virginia.     

MPLX’s Seneca Plant employees in Ohio cleaned up a nearby park and completed their quarterly Adopt-a-Highway cleanup.   

MPLX’s Sherwood Plant cleaned over 13 miles of the North Bend Rail Trail, which runs directly in front of the plant. This was part of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Make It Shine Program.

MPLX operations in Southern California: Members from the Right-of-Way (ROW) & Damage Prevention team took part in an Earth Day event as part of the second anniversary of SBCC Thrive, an urban farm in the community of Wilmington. The event included a ribbon-cutting event for the non-profit’s new amphitheater sponsored by Marathon. The farm supports lower-income families in the communities of Wilmington, Carson and San Pedro, offering them green space and rental plots to plant and grow produce.

North Muskegon, Michigan, terminal employees recently volunteered 10 hours of their time at the 2023 Muskegon Lake Spring Cleanup. The team from MPC along with community volunteers collected 120 pounds of trash from Ryerson Creek near downtown Muskegon.

Robinson refinery employee volunteers in Illinois spent the day celebrating Earth Day at Meserve Cabin with students from Washington Elementary School. It was a full day of activities, which included a nature trail walk, kite flying, and students helping Marathon employees with a compost demonstration.

Saint Paul Park refinery employees celebrated Earth Day at Freedom Park, just southeast of the refinery where the St. Croix and Mississippi rivers come together. Marathon sponsored this year’s event that focused on sustainability and included a variety of hands-on activities for kids to learn about the area's natural habitat, rich with native plants and wildlife. About 250 people attended the event. In May, employees from the refinery will also take part in a cleanup operation with Friends of the Mississippi River to restore bluff lands by clearing invasive species of plants and picking up trash.

San Antonio Office employees attended an onsite Earth Day fair to learn about recycling and water saving programs. They also picked up free plants, reusable plasticware and energy-saving nightlights.

In Tampa, Florida, employees from both Tampa terminals participated in the third annual Great Port Cleanup. The event was sponsored by Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful and Port Tampa Bay. MPC employees aided in the removal of trash and marine debris from several sites in and around the port.

Virent employees participated in the Run For The Trees: Happy Little 5K to raise money for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.