Breedon help NWWT protect Flintshire woodland
Company partners with North Wales Wildlife Trust to help develop sustainable Living Landscape
BREEDON Aggregates have partnered with North Wales Wildlife Trust (NWWT) to help conserve 24ha of woodland near the company’s Fron Haul Quarry at Nannerch, near Mold, in Flintshire.
NWWT had already obtained a grant of just over £41,000 from SITA UK to fund conservation work at a number of woodland sites in the area. However, in order to accept the grant, the Trust needed to secure a proportion of the total from a contributing third party and Breedon agreed to donate £4,000 to bridge the gap.
The project will initiate an intensive programme of woodland management within NWWT’s Alun and Chwiler Living Landscape area: a landscape-scale scheme in which conservation work is undertaken in partnership with other organizations and private landowners.
The work will involve coppicing, tree thinning and the creation of woodland glades, with local communities involved wherever possible. Among the species that will benefit are the dormouse, pied flycatcher and pearl-bordered fritillary.
In the future, NWWT hopes to explore the potential for production of sustainable timber products, such as charcoal, which will contribute to the longer-term sustainability of the site management.
Commenting on the partnership, Tim Hall, chief executive of Breedon Aggregates England, said: ‘We’re delighted to be playing a role in protecting this beautiful area of North Wales for future generations.
‘NWWT does wonderful work in this part of the world and as a business with deep roots in this community through our Fron Haul Quarry, we’re proud to be involved in this excellent scheme.’
Dr Graeme Cotterill, NWWT’s fundraising director, added: ‘We very grateful to Breedon and all our funding partners for supporting this project. Working with private companies, in particular, demonstrates exactly what a Living Landscape is all about: bringing together all stakeholders to form a sustainably used, wildlife-rich landscape even beyond our protected sites.’
