Images: Pine Log S.T.E.M logo with red band and two feathers hanging from a letter P. Gerdau logo in blue with mirrored Gs. In one picture, two men are standing in front of a pile of sawdust and a pile of slag outside. In the second picture, a man is unloading slag from a landscaping trailer on the ground outside. Text: We are sending thanks to Gerdau and Tyler Franklin Landscaping. Phillip Sutton and Gerdau of Cartersville for the donation of a load of slag to our Killdeer sanctuary! We are also thankful for Tyler Franklin who picked up and delivered the slag to the Killdeer sanctuary site.

Killdeer sanctuary update

Beverly Hughes

January 29, 2025

We are so thankful for our newest community partners: Gerdau and Tyler Franklin Landscaping.

When we expressed a need for bird sanctuary materials, Phillip Sutton, a proud Pine Log community member, recommended slag. Located in Cartersville, Georgia, Gerdau's steel mill creates slag as an off product of the steel-making process. Sutton stated that the Killdeer love the slag and nest in the lava-like rocks on the Gerdau campus. Sutton advocated for PLES by asking for a donation of slag to add to our Killdeer sanctuary.

Tyler Franklin, a local landscaper, donated his time by picking up the slag in his landscaping truck from Gerdau and delivering the load to the Killdeer sanctuary on the Pine Log campus. Franklin stated that he was happy to help our school and be a part of our sanctuary build.

Our goal is to complete the Killdeer sanctuary no later than Friday, February 14, 2025, to increase the chances that the Killdeer will choose the sanctuary for a nesting site this season instead of our playgrounds. The success of Pine Log students in S.T.E.M is improved with community partners. We are so thankful for Phillip Sutton and Tyler Franklin for representing Gerdau and Tyler Franklin Landscaping to support our Killdeer sanctuary.

If you would like to be a S.T.E.M. Community Partner or a Pine Log Partner, please contact an administrator at 770-606-5864.