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Biodiversity Benchmark for Little Paxton Quarry

 

AGGREGATE Industries’ Little Paxton Quarry, near St Neots, in Cambridgeshire, has received The Wildlife Trusts’ Biodiversity Benchmark award for its sustained commitment to land management.

The sand and gravel extraction operation, which is adjacent to Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, has been managed with sensitivity to wildlife over the past decade. Both sites form an important wetland area, part of which has been designated as an SSSI by Natural England in recognition of its importance for wintering water birds, many of which visit from Russia and the high Arctic.

 

To achieve the Biodiversity Benchmark, Little Paxton Quarry is operating to an exacting Biodiversity Action Plan, with staff at the quarry working closely with local birdwatchers and a team of volunteers from the Friends of Paxton Pits Nature Reserve (FPPNR) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to monitor activities across the area, which last year recorded 160 bird species.

Quarry manager Darren Griffiths said: ‘As a result of going through the Biodiversity Benchmark, even for a site of such national recognition as Little Paxton, we were able to identify areas where further enhancement and protection of biodiversity could be implemented. We are now able to clearly demonstrate areas of the site which are subject to legislation and require external monitoring.’

He added: ‘While attaining the Biodiversity Benchmark was hard work and time-consuming, we feel the long-term payback of enhancement across Little Paxton Quarry, and the development of our relationship with our external partners, more than exceeds the initial investment of time.’

Michael Allen, chairman of The Wildlife Trusts, said: ‘There is increasing awareness among the business community of the need to develop more sustainable business operations, and I am delighted that Aggregate Industries is at the forefront of organizations who have achieved the Biodiversity Benchmark.

‘In a man-made environment such as this, the richness of flora and fauna does not happen by accident. Aggregate Industries, together with all their partners and volunteer supporters, have worked incredibly hard to achieve The Wildlife Trusts’ Biodiversity Benchmark.

‘Every organization that owns or uses land can help protect and restore our native wildlife by managing their land with the environment in mind. I hope that this example will encourage many more organisations to meet the challenge of the Biodiversity Benchmark.’

 

 

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