Habitats

Eastman employees visiting the honeybee observation hive

Honeybees

Demonstration beehive

Eastman employees manage the Eastman Nature Center’s honeybee demonstration hive along with several active box hives on site. East Texas Beekeepers Association (ETBA) initially developed and maintained those hives. The demonstration hive promotes a better understanding of honeybees’ important ecological role.

Birding

Two hawks perched on fence posts at the Eastman Nature Center

Eastman and the Longview Christmas Bird Count

The National Audubon Society sponsors the annual Christmas Bird Count. The Longview Christmas Bird Count started in 1989 and is one of about 2,000 counts across the U.S. and Canada where birders count how many different bird species and individuals they find in 24 hours inside a circle with a 15-mile diameter.

Eastman has a long and supportive history with bird-watchers in the area around Longview, Texas, most of whom belong to the Northeast Texas Field Ornithologists (NETFO) organization. Each year, Eastman is host to birders who travel around the plant site for the count.

A group of pelicans visiting during annual migration

Bird gallery

See many of the birds that have lived on Eastman’s Longview, Texas, grounds over the years.

Demonstration forest

Our 40-acre demonstration forest was established in 1999. It was a project conceived by Eastman and the Texas Cooperative Extension to collect data as a field exhibit for a variety of forest management techniques and concepts.

Pine tree forest in the Eastman Nature Center

Forestry management techniques

The demonstration forest exhibits seven plots of land to illustrate a variety of forest management practices, including a control plot where no practices are employed and a plot purely for aesthetics. This area provides the ability to see a variety of management techniques in one location to help landowners make informed decisions about their own practices.

History

In 2007, the demonstration forest began a major overhaul with the help of the Texas A&M Forest Service as well as a variety of local contractors. It is now part of the company’s timber management program.

A native hardwoods sign at the Eastman Recreation Center