Celebrating innovation in biodiversity
Heidelberg Materials honour outstanding Quarry Life Award projects and winners
HEIDERBERG Materials have announced the winners of the sixth Quarry Life Award, recognizing innovative biodiversity projects developed at the company’s extraction sites worldwide. More than 100 guests gathered at the awards ceremony in Heidelberg, Germany, where the Grand Prize was awarded to a team from Poland for a project that combined practical habitat management with strong community engagement.
Launched in 2012, the international competition invites researchers, students, NGOs, and community groups to use the company’s quarries and pits as ‘living laboratories’ to study and enhance biodiversity. The initiative has generated hundreds of practical ideas to protect habitats and species found in mineral extraction environments, while also raising public awareness of the role quarries can play in nature conservation.
Dr Katharina Beumelburg, chief sustainability and new technologies officer, and member of the managing board at Heidelberg Materials, said: ‘Collaboration is the catalyst for change. When we come together, share ideas, and scale what works, we turn sustainability from strategy into reality. As a unique flagship initiative in our industry, the Quarry Life Award addresses biodiversity loss – one of today’s most pressing global challenges – and forms an integral part of our sustainability strategy.’
This year, more than 130 teams from across the globe submitted proposals, with 56 selected to carry out project work on site. Since the programme began, around 170 Heidelberg Materials sites have hosted more than 500 projects involving thousands of plant and animal species, supported by contributions from more than 18,000 participants.
Dr Beumelburg added: ‘The Quarry Life Award empowers science and communities to turn valuable ideas into action. I’m proud of the lasting, local impact that participants have delivered at our sites since 2012. It’s a strong track record for nature.’
The initiative underlines Heidelberg Materials’ commitment to a nature-positive future and supports global biodiversity goals. Working with partners such as BirdLife International, the company continues to promote ecological restoration and raise awareness of biodiversity opportunities linked to quarrying and mineral extraction.
Quarry Life Award Project winners:
The Grand Prize was awarded to ‘Nature without Borders: Revitalizing Post-Mining Areas at KSM Ruda in Budzinska’ (Poland), which transformed a former quarry into a model site for habitat restoration and community engagement.
The Habitat & Species Research Award went to ‘Wild Bees in the Quarries of the Pays de la Loire' (France) for its extensive study on solitary bee populations and practical recommendations aligned with the French National Pollinator Plan.
Morocco’s ‘Biodiversity in Action: Protecting the Amphibians and Reptiles of the Ait Baha Quarries’ received the Biodiversity Management Award, recognizing hands-on conservation work and staff training to safeguard local herpetofauna.
The Beyond Quarry Borders Award was presented to the US project ‘Population Status of the Hoosier Cavefish in Hamer Cave’, which delivered new insights into Indiana’s karst groundwater ecosystems.
Indonesia’s ‘Biodiversity Education through Birdwatching' earned the Biodiversity & Education Award, engaging students and quarry staff in birdwatching and nature learning activities.
The Connecting Quarries and Local Communities Award went to Tanzania’s ‘Enhancement of Rehabilitation Initiatives at Wazo Hill Quarry for City Eco-Tourism’, which created a community training centre using recycled materials.
Finally, the UK project ‘Stuck in the Mud: Quarry Lake Sediments as Long-Term Pollution Traps’ secured the Nature-Based Solutions Award for demonstrating the role of quarry lakes in water-quality improvement and natural carbon capture.
