Woodland project scoops Hanson UK’s biodiversity award
A biodiversity project carried out by a team from the University of South Wales has won the UK research section of the Quarry Life Awards 2018.
The project, which looked at the value of translocating ancient woodland soils within quarried landscapes at Forest Wood quarry, Mid-Glamorgan, claimed the £4,400 first prize at an awards ceremony held at Hanson’s former sand and gravel quarry at Middleton Hall, Tamworth.
This year is the fourth biennial Quarry Life Awards – an international competition organised by Hanson’s parent company HeidelbergCement Group to raise the understanding of the biological value of mining sites both during and after extraction. Over 300 research projects from 25 countries entered the award, with 110 projects taken through to the research phase.
The Forest Wood study, led by Dr. David Lee, senior lecturer in wildlife ecology, considered the benefits of moving woodland soils to other areas in the quarry to enhance ecological resilience and aid habitat regeneration post-extraction.
Martin Crow, national sustainability manager at Hanson UK, said: “This project stood out as it combined a strong scientific approach, creating a lot of knowledge, with great potential for ongoing monitoring. The judges believe it will provide the scientific data to inform some important decisions in the future about soil translocation.”
Second place in the research category, receiving a £2,200 prize was the University of the West of England’s project on the part limestone quarry habitats can play in protecting the endangered European eel, carried out at Chipping Sodbury in South Gloucestershire, with Bath Spa University’s project on wetland creation, also carried out Chipping Sodbury Quarry, receiving the runners-up, third place award.
The judging panel, which was led by Helen Barnard from the RSPB, was particularly impressed with the high standard of this year’s projects and their potential benefits. The full list of awards is as follows:
Research section:
1st prize: Biodiversity value of translocated ancient woodland soils in quarried landscapes, University of South Wales
2nd prize: Current and potential value of limestone quarry habitats for the critically endangered European eel, University of the West of England
3rd prize: Wetland creation in limestone quarries: enabling colonisation and enriching biodiversity, Bath Spa University
Community section:
1st prize: In at the start: building a long-term partnership between the community and a new quarry, High Batts Nature Reserve, Ripon, North Yorkshire
2nd prize: The Tice's Meadow biodiversity trail: opening up Tice's Meadow to new visitors and wildlife, Farnham, Surrey
3rd prize: Safe homes for Sand Martins: creating an artificial nesting bank at Ketton in Stamford, Lincolnshire
Daniel Cooper, chief executive officer of Hanson UK, who presented the awards, said: “We recognise that our sites are a valuable natural resource and we are committed to maximising the benefits they can provide both for biodiversity and the local communities in which they are situated.”
Both UK winning projects are now put forward to the relevant category of the international competition, where the overall winning project will claim a €30,000 at a ceremony in Brussels later this year.
More information can be found on the Quarry Life Award website: www.quarrylifeaward.com or go to www.hanson-sustainability.co.uk for further details on Hanson UK’s approach towards sustainability.