Tarmac's Report to Society - Environment
Supporting biodiversity in Northumberland
Tarmac formally launched its Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) for sites in Northumberland at an event attended by botanist, author, broadcaster and environmental campaigner David Bellamy, OBE. This is Tarmac's first county-wide BAP and covers those quarries with planning permission for mineral extraction within the county.
At the launch event held at Howick Hall, near Alnwick, in January 2007, David Bellamy spoke with County Councillors, wildlife groups, RSPB and Environment Agency representatives, and local landowners, commenting that: "Tarmac is committed to protecting and enhancing the value of its quarries for wildlife, not only while they are active but also during restoration."
Over 350 hectares of our mineral sites in Northumberland were surveyed by ecologists in 2005. These surveys revealed that the sites support a number of species whose conservation status is of national concern, including red squirrel, linnet, skylark and bats. Other regionally important species such as ringed plover and snipe nest and rear their young in quarries. The mineral sites were also found to contain habitats such as whin grassland and wet woodland that are of national importance for the plant and animal species that they support. The BAPs in Northumberland help to ensure that we protect these species in their natural environments and that our activities do not pose any threat to their well-being.
The biodiversity plans cover seven quarries, of which some are temporarily closed, most are active and some have yet to start operations. Our sites range from approximately nine to 135 hectares, and the majority are hard rock quarries (whinstone and redstone) with three sand and gravel quarries. The seven sites are located at Barrasford, Belford, Broadoak, Howick, Harden, Lanton and Woodbridge.
Continuing our work in Northumberland, in the summer of 2007, we launched the Tarmac Schools Biodiversity Challenge, in which schools in the county were invited to create and manage biodiversity plans for their grounds.
At a ceremony in January 2008 to which David Bellamy again contributed, the Lindisfarne Middle School and Long Houghton First School received trophies to recognise their pioneering role in the project, along with a selection of spades, forks, rakes, hoes and other tools to help them get started on implementing their biodiversity plans. Children from all the participating schools also helped to create a podcast recorded by David Bellamy on the day, which is intended for use as an educational resource across the UK.
The Tarmac Schools Biodiversity Challenge continues in 2008, with visits to local quarries being organised for schools so that the children can see for themselves how we are implementing our plans at local quarries.
We are also working with Northumberland Local Education Authority to produce biodiversity learning packs for schools, which can be fully integrated into key elements of the National Curriculum.
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