New Nature After Minerals website goes live

New-look site provides improved functionality for better access to essential information and resources

NATURE After Minerals (NAM) – the RSPB-led minerals restoration partnership programme, with support from Natural England, the Minerals Products Association (MPA) and the British Aggregates Association (BAA) – has unveiled its new website at www.afterminerals.com.

Faster, more streamlined and replacing the programme’s former website originally established in 2007, the new site will continue to act as an information hub for all stakeholders with an interest and active involvement in minerals restoration for a nature conservation end-use.

Following consultation with stakeholders, the site provides a resource to share advice on a range of land-management issues – such as priority habitat creation; species protection; and strategic minerals planning – and showcases minerals restoration best-practice case study examples for biodiversity gain, ecosystem services benefits and local community engagement.

With the switch to replace the old NAM website with the newer version, Nigel Symes, head of the RSPB’s Business Advice Unit overseeing the NAM programme, said: ‘As Nature After Minerals’ 10th anniversary approaches, it is really interesting to reflect on the scale of uptake and enthusiasm the quarry sector has for creating great places for nature through restoring its sites, which has real benefits for species and people, as well as for the natural environment.

‘This willingness to do the right thing by nature has knock-on benefits for society – not just in terms of providing better places for people to live but in helping, for example, to reduce flood risks.

‘We have been showcasing this restoration best practice via the NAM website and sharing it with all who have a stake in the legacy of minerals winning, and this has proved to be a vital tool for providing essential new habitats. With the improvements to its functionality and presentation, the new Nature After Minerals website will provide better access to essential information and resources, as well as news and advice.

He added: ‘We want this information to be as relevant and up to date as possible, so we will continue work with quarry companies to share case study examples of their own.’