Top awards for high fliers

ENVIRONMENTALLY responsible companies throughout the UK, including a large number of quarrying firms, have received top honours at an awards ceremony aimed at highlighting the best business sites for birds. Tarmac, sponsors of the Bird Challenge for Business 2000, and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) paid tribute to the award winners at a special presentation ceremony held last month at Tarmac Central’s Langford Quarry in Nottinghamshire, where sand and gravel extraction is being followed by progressive restoration to a major nature reserve for the RSPB.

The culmination of a two-year partnership between Tarmac and the BTO, the awards ceremony highlighted the excellent work being undertaken on many business and industrial sites. A total of 30 awards were presented in three categories — sites that had recorded the largest number of species of bird; sites that had done the most for bird conservation; and sites that were actively involved in community education and conservation initiatives.

Among the companies receiving the honours were: Aggregate Industries, Alresford Sand & Ballast, Foster Yeoman, Hanson Aggregates, Lafarge Aggregates, Tarmac Northern, Tarmac Southern and Tudor Griffiths.

Congratulating the winners, challenge organizer Graham Appleton of the BTO said: ‘We are delighted that so many companies find room for birds within their business environments and grateful to Tarmac for their support for the challenge. The most important lesson is that it is easy to make a difference — wild-flower meadows, scrubby corners and small pools all act as magnets for birds, including several species which are of conservation concern.’

Tarmac executive director John Bowater added: ‘Quarries, operational plant sites and business sites throughout the UK are havens for wildlife and provide excellent examples of good environmental practice. We hope that the BTO–Tarmac Challenge will motivate others to improve biodiversity at their sites and operations.’