Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania Sponsors 13 WPC Gardens including
" one of the largest and most beautiful flowerbed sites in the Pittsburgh region"

"Western Pennsylvania Conservancy is pleased to continue its partnership with Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, a partnership that began in 1996 and has helped to improve our region ever since," said Larry Schweiger, president of WPC. "Because of the sheer volume of traffic that passes these sites, these gardens make a lot of people's lives a little bit better. In the case of the Liberty Tunnels garden, the numbers of folks affected are even higher than usual because of the construction detours."

Rain or shine, more than 75 volunteers from Allegheny and several surrounding counties, many of whom work for Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, convened at the Liberty Tunnels to dig and plant and irrigate and mulch their way to re-creating one of the largest and most beautiful flowerbed sites in the Pittsburgh region. These dedicated men and women will plant nearly 6,000 flowers in three gardens at the south portal interchange of the Liberty Tunnels, which channels nearly 400,000 South Hills motorists through the area every week.

Funds pledged by the local utility company will be used for many purposes, not just for the purchase of plants and soil. Columbia's support also will fund the services of local landscaping firms to maintain the gardens. So, while helping to create more than a dozen gardens-including one of Pittsburgh's largest-Columbia also is helping to provide jobs in the area and add to the local economy.

"Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania has been a WPC supporter for many years," said Robert Boulware, Columbia's Director of Communications. "These garden projects are real community-builders, and that's something that we're very interested in too, so it's a natural partnership." Added Boulware, "As a public utility, our chief task is to serve the communities. But for us, it's more than just providing gas service. We want to help make our region a viable place where people want to reside."

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, one of the oldest and largest conservation organizations in the Commonwealth, has worked for seven decades to promote healthy and attractive neighborhoods throughout western Pennsylvania. In response to overwhelming community demand, WPC annually facilitates more than 400 separate garden projects with help from more than 5,000 volunteers. These projects can be found in Pittsburgh neighborhoods and schools, around Allegheny County, at gateways to towns and cities and throughout the western Pennsylvania region. To encourage reinvestment in urban communities, WPC forges creative partnerships and seeks local support through corporate, foundation and government sponsorship. By helping to make communities more attractive, WPC hopes to reduce development pressures on undeveloped countrysides.

Western Pennsylvania Conservancy also protects natural lands and preserves Fallingwater®. Learn more about WPC by visiting www.paconserve.org.

Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, with local headquarters in Pittsburgh, serves more than 389,000 customers in 27 counties. It is one of the 10 energy distribution companies of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI). NiSource distribution companies serve 3.7 million natural gas and electric customers primarily in nine states. More information about Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania is available on the World Wide Web at www.columbiagas.com.

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