How Manufacturing Lives in Harmony With Farming in the Rural South

Spring Hill, one of GM’s biggest manufacturing facilities in North America, takes manufacturing to new heights. With onsite farming, wildlife habitat conservation, education and historic home preservation, this site has become an integral part of Tennessee’s fertile and tranquil landscape.

It was another typical summer day for Keith Bradley, who just finished harvesting wheat crops that would eventually be sold across Middle Tennessee. He planted the wheat alongside corn and beans at GM Spring Hill Manufacturing – where one third of the campus is dedicated to farming.

“Some things are just a part of you, and farming is how I was made,” said Bradley, who has lived and worked as a farmer in Spring Hill his entire life and has farmed at GM Spring Hill over the past 24 years. “By taking care of the land, I get to play a part in protecting the farmland I grew up on. This is home to me.”

The automaker’s commitment to its surrounding environment predates the facility’s opening in 1990. Since breaking ground, GM Spring Hill has focused on upholding the integrity and identity of this rural land in Tennessee, a mission that continues today.

A commitment to sustainable development

Since 1990, GM Spring Hill has reserved over 600 acres of its campus for continued farming to preserve the land’s long-term rural function. To do this, the facility itself was built down into the bedrock and painted with a specific hue of blue to blend into the surroundings.

“The public cannot see our manufacturing plant from Highway 31. However, they do see the farm fields and Haynes Haven,” said Mike Rayburn, facilities manager at GM Spring Hill. “As 30,000 cars pass this grand old home each day, the community recognizes this as the face of GM Spring Hill.”

In addition to preserving farmland, the manufacturing site has also dedicated 80 acres to a wildlife habitat, causing native flora to flourish and wildlife, like wild turkey and deer, to roam and graze.

Recognized by Wildlife Habitat Council with gold conservation certification since 2013, GM Spring Hill is an unlikely destination for people to retreat to nature, enjoy up-close wildlife encounters and appreciate environmental conservation.

“We incorporate sustainability into our day-to-day operations and the wildlife habitat program is just one example of that,” said Julie Lucas, environmental supervisor at GM Spring Hill. “In addition, working with our community and educators to grow awareness of important environmental issues is a way that we live out one of our GM core behaviors of Looking Ahead.”

A mission to inspire next generations

The efforts of environmental stewardship expand far beyond fostering onsite natural habitats. For years, Spring Hill Manufacturing employees, together with local partners like Boys & Girls Club, have helped local students dive deeper into the environmental field and learn about their region’s unique resources.

Last October, through partnership with the Friends of Henry Horton and the Duck River Agency, GM Spring Hill hosted field trips for over 2,000 fifth graders from Bedford, Marshall, and Maury counties to study the local Duck River, which is the community’s sole source of drinking water and the very downstream of two streams and six ponds on the manufacturing site. The Duck River also happens to be one of the world’s most biodiverse waterways.

Check out the photos below to see for yourself the beautiful southern ecosystem GM Spring Hill fits itself into, naturally.