RESTORE final conference: It’s a wrap!
RSPB film crew tours mineral sites in the UK and Europe in preparation for project’s final conference
IN preparation for the RESTORE final conference taking place in Brussels from 17–18 June, the RSPB has been co-ordinating the production of a short film to highlight the merits of restoring minerals sites to nature conservation after-use.
A key objective of the film has been to focus on the knock-on benefits for people, local economies and biodiversity when mineral sites are appropriately and sustainably restored in this way.
The film will be unveiled at the RESTORE project’s closing conference, which is an official Brussels ‘Green Week 2015’ satellite event and will be addressed by leading figures from the minerals industry, conservation and the European Parliament.
Meanwhile, as part of work undertaken within Work Package 4 of the RESTORE project, the RSPB has been assessing the ecosystem services benefits to be gained from restoration work carried out at RSPB Ouse Fen nature reserve (part of the Hanson UK/RSPB Wetland Project) and RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes nature reserve, where mineral extraction formerly took place.
The results of this work have now been detailed in a scientific paper entitled: ‘Rapid Assessment of Ecosystem Services Provided by Two Mineral Extraction Sites Restored for Nature Conservation in an Agricultural Landscape in Eastern England’, which is available for viewing on the Public Library of Science (PLOS) website.
