May 2007

LITTLE PAXTON QUARRY SCOOPS BIRD AWARD DOUBLE

Bardon Aggregates’ Little Paxton Quarry near St Neots in Cambridgeshire has won two prestigious awards in the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Business Bird Challenge 2006 which recognises the best bird conservation initiatives nationwide. Hard work by local birdwatchers, conservation volunteers and quarry staff resulted in the quarry scooping the Conservation and Bird Species categories in the Large Quarry section.

Little Paxton Quarry, a sand and gravel extraction operation adjacent to Paxton Pits Nature Reserve, has been managed with sensitivity to wildlife over the past decade. Little Paxton Quarry and Paxton Pits Nature Reserve form an important wetland which attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year. Part of the site has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Natural England, in recognition of its importance for wintering water birds, many of which visit from Russia and the high Arctic.

The Birds category was won by Little Paxton, with an amazing 160 different bird species monitored through the year by a team of volunteers from the Friends of Paxton Pits Nature Reserve (FPPNR), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and St Neots Bird and Wildlife Club.

The Conservation Award was won by quarry staff and volunteers from the FPPNR and RSPB working to improve wildlife habitats at the quarry. During the year their work involved the management of shorelines, creation of an island for ground-nesting birds, re-profiling of an existing island to allow future management by control of water levels and maintaining viewpoints on the Ouse Valley Way long-distance footpath.

Volunteers from the Friends also used their long experience of habitat management on the adjacent Reserve to support to the Company’s plan to extend Paxton Pits Nature Reserve as part of an application to extract the remaining minerals at the site.

This is the third year of awards for Little Paxton Quarry in the BTO Business Bird Challenge, having previously won in 2002 and 2004. Elsewhere in the UK, Bardon Aggregates’ owner Aggregate Industries also won an award in the Large Quarry category for Cleveland Farm in Wiltshire, and its Fledmyre Quarry in Forfar, Scotland was also selected in the Quarry category.

Quarry manager, Darren Griffiths, said: “The input of our volunteers is crucial to Little Paxton Quarry winning these awards. I would like to thank them for giving up their time to monitor the wildlife at the quarry and develop special habitats that have attracted a diverse range of birds. Over the years, Little Paxton Quarry has established a good name for conservation. Our third consecutive award supports this well-earned reputation.”

The team will be officially presented with its awards on 21st June 2007 at Rutland Water.

 

 

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