At Burgettstown High School in southwestern Pennsylvania, students gaze out their classroom window to see an active surface mining operation right next door on state Game Lands.
Huge machinery molds the earth and captures the imagination of young boys.
Daily they watch the transformation unfold from logging and mining to reclamation into native grasslands. Without an explanation of the process, however, students and teachers alike might misunderstand what is occurring. The president of Mulligan Mining, Sean Taylor, is therefore working to educate the school and community about his industry and its relation to the environment with the help of the Wildlife Habitat Council. This diverse partnership includes the Burgettstown Middle and High School, Mulligan Mining, the Pittsburgh office of the Wildlife Habitat Council, Raccoon Creek Watershed Association, and the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Following in his father's footsteps, Sean has been in the business since 1970.