Six Hanson UK sites to participate in international Quarry Life Award research competition
A NEW international academic research competition to promote biodiversity has been launched by HeidelbergCement Group.
The Quarry Life Award, which is open to undergraduate and post-graduate students, aims to find new ideas for the conservation and promotion of species diversity in quarries and carries a total prize fund of £100,000.
In the UK, students are being invited to submit potential projects to be carried out at one of six Hanson UK sites: Wykeham, near Scarborough; Padeswood, near Mold; Shardlow, in Derbyshire; Kings Dyke, in Cambridgeshire; Wrotham, near Maidstone; and Warmwell airfield, an inactive site near Dorchester.
Project submissions should be based around one of four main topics: discovering biodiversity; biodiversity and rehabilitation; biodiversity and education; and biodiversity management during extraction. Other topics will be considered based on their enhancement of biodiversity value and/or link with Hanson’s UK operations and products.
Selected projects will be judged by a panel of in-house and independent experts and three national winners will be selected to win a cash prize. The overall UK winner will then be submitted into the global Quarry Life Award with the opportunity to claim the top prize of £27,000.
Martin Crow, head of environment and sustainability with Hanson UK, said: ‘The Quarry Life Award offers students a unique opportunity to add ecological and educational value to a mining environment.
‘We are hoping that the project submissions will raise the understanding of the biological value of quarries and contribute to biodiversity – while providing students with an insight into a possible career path.’
The deadline for proposals is 17 February 2012 with selected projects being carried out between March and September 2012. Completed research is to be submitted by 30 September 2012.
Profiles of the six participating Hanson sites, together with full terms and conditions, can be found on the Quarry Life website: www.quarrylifeaward.com
