FEATURE/Canon Clean Earth Crews Join Forces for a National Conservation Day.

Business Editors/Environmental Writers

FEATURE...

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURE)--Oct. 28, 2000

Employees Partner with The Nature Conservancy to Help Preserve and

Protect the Environment

From the southern Wai'anae Mountains in Hawaii to Egret Island in the Florida Keys, Canon U.S.A. employees will gather their garden tools, work clothes and enthusiastic spirits for the second annual Canon Conservation Day taking place on Saturday, October 28 in parks and nature preserves across the country.

Seven Canon "Clean Earth Crews" composed of employees from regional sales and subsidiary offices have partnered with The Nature Conservancy to clean up and preserve sites with the greatest need. Five more offices are working with local, community-based conservation groups.

On this year's Conservation Day, more than 300 Canon volunteers are expected to participate in on-the-ground projects that will help protect and enhance habitats - - from seed planting of native species to clearing brush for fire breaks. More specifically, this is the largest group of volunteers from Canon's Clean Earth Crews that have been grouped into a national event on the same day.

"Canon's employees are a key component of our efforts to protect the environment and we're proud of the active role they play in this nationwide Conservation Day," said Steven Rautenberg, vice president and general manager, corporate communications, Canon U.S.A., Inc. "We hope this event will encourage other companies to engage their employees in similar environmental conservation projects."

"Canon's support for conservation is exemplary," said Pat Patterson, director of the The Nature Conservancy's Wings of the Americas program, which Canon supports. "Canon has provided resources from Canada to Mexico that are important for Wings, our bird conservation program. The company and its employees are helping set real benchmarks for conservation," Patterson added.

Clean Earth Crews At Work

At Camp Timberline in Makakilo, Hawaii, a Canon Clean Earth Crew will transplant Keiki Koa seedlings, plant native trees and install a drip irrigation system in a native plant garden on the camp grounds. At Egret Island in the Upper Florida Keys, volunteers will clear the island of several exotic plants, including the Brazilian pepper and Australian pine, in order for the native species to survive at this heavily visited tourist destination.

A Canon Crew will also spend the day at Uplands Farm Preserve, 90 acres on Long Island's north shore in Cold Spring Harbor, New York. Assisted by a local troop of boy scouts and 30 students from the Friends Academy, these volunteers will remove invasive non-native shrubs, vines and trees to improve the habitat for grassland birds such as the bluebird, New York State's bird, wildflowers, small mammals and about 40 species of butterflies.

At Clymer Meadow Preserve, near Dallas, Texas, a Canon Crew will build firebreaks and harvest rare prairie seeds. The Canon Clean Earth Crew from Chicago will reseed the grasslands at Poplar Creek Prairie and Savanna to encourage the growth of more than 100 species of native grass and flowers. Earlier in the week, Atlanta's Clean Earth Crew worked with the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, the U.S. EPA and 50 students from Henderson Middle School to sample water and clean up a portion of Peachtree Creek that they have "adopted."

Employees from Canon U.S.A.'s Lake Success headquarters established the first local Clean Earth Crew four years ago to assist in Long Island-based environmental projects such as beach clean-ups at Fire Island National Seashore, and the restoration of wetlands and trails at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. Now there are twelve Canon Clean Earth Crews participating in conservation activities on and around this year's Conservation Day.

Canon U.S.A. is one of the largest corporate supporters of the environment. Under the umbrella of its Clean Earth Campaign, Canon funds critical conservation projects through the National Park Foundation's Expedition into the Parks initiative as well as the Canon National Park Science Scholars Program, which provides scholarships to Ph.D. students conducting research to benefit U.S. National Parks. Canon is a major supporter of The Nature Conservancy, the PBS television series NATURE and the Canon Envirothon, an international high school environmental science competition. Canon's also supports youth-at-risk, funding the March of Dimes, the LensCrafters Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Association and Junior Achievement.

Canon U.S.A. is an industry leader in professional and consumer imaging systems and solutions and, through its parent company, Canon Inc., is a top patent holder of imaging technologies. The company's comprehensive product line includes networked multifunction devices, digital and analog copiers (color and black and white) printers, scanners, facsimile machines, camcorders, cameras and lenses; semiconductor, broadcast and medical equipment. Canon employs 12,000 people at more than 30 facilities throughout North, Central, South America and the Caribbean.

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