Quarry Life Award 2018

HeidelbergCement launch fourth edition of competition to boost biodiversity in quarries

HeidelbergCement are calling for participation in the fourth edition of the ‘Quarry Life Award’, their international scientific and educational contest which targets innovative approaches to study and boost biodiversity at quarry sites, and aims to raise awareness about mining ecology.

New for this fourth edition is the separate assessment of scientific and community project ideas. To participate in the competition, students, graduates, researchers, NGOs and local communities have to submit a project to one of six available categories.

From January to September 2018, HeidelbergCement will open the doors of their quarries in 26 participating countries – with Benin, Burkina Faso, Egypt, France, Italy and Morocco joining for the first time.

‘Many of our quarries serve as a habitat for rare species. Protecting biodiversity in our quarries and promoting the knowledge about it is, therefore, particularly important to us,’ said Dr Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.

‘We believe that the research projects and ideas of the Quarry Life Award contribute to these efforts. That’s why we have implemented the Quarry Life Award for the fourth time in a row.’

To allow fair competition for all participants, the Quarry Life Award has now been split into two streams: the research stream and the community stream.

The research stream will focus on scientific projects that increase knowledge of mining ecology and lead to improved biodiversity, landscape or water management. It is open to academics, scientists, experts and NGOs. The categories in this stream are: Biodiversity management; Habitat & species research; and Beyond quarry borders.

The community stream will focus on engagement and outreach projects that help quarries to better connect with their local stakeholders. This stream is open to everyone from individuals, students and school classes to NGOs and local communities. The categories in this stream are: Biodiversity & education; Connecting quarries and local communities; and Student class project.

The project registration period is now open and runs until 20 November 2017. By 1 December 2017, the juries of each national contest will have reviewed the submitted proposals and selected the projects to enter the competition. The contestants will then be invited to implement their research project between January and September 2018.

In the autumn of 2018, the national juries will grant four national awards: two for the best projects in the research stream and two for the best projects in the community stream (with prizes of €5,000€ and €2,500). Simultaneously, all participating projects will also be individually assessed by an international jury and will compete for international prizes. The best projects in each of the six categories will receive an international award of €10,000, and the best project overall will receive €30,000.