Tarmac backing conservation in Peak District
Company commits to £20,000 annual donation for next five years plus volunteer help from employees
TARMAC have stepped up to provide much-needed funding to help the Peak District National Park employ a new member of staff to support its conservation volunteering programme.
The donation will see Tarmac committing £20,000 each year for the next five years, directly providing the money and volunteer hours needed to care for and protect the special landscape of the UK’s first national park.
Tarmac employees will also help the new volunteers project assistant with projects across the national park on one day each month for the duration of the partnership.
Sarah Fowler, chief executive of the Peak District National Park, said: ‘We are absolutely delighted to be working alongside Tarmac to help look after this wonderful place. It’s a great example of a business determined to invest back into its local communities.
‘This year marks the 65th anniversary of the original UK national park, and this support, together with the fantastic efforts of all our volunteers, will help us to protect it for future generations to enjoy.’
Andy Corrigan, director of communications and corporate affairs at Tarmac, added: ‘We’re excited to be entering a partnership with our close neighbour with whom we’ve had a long relationship. The partnership enables us to contribute to maintaining and protecting this precious natural asset and learn from the Park’s work to support our own volunteering targets.’
To launch the pioneering partnership, last week employees from Tarmac’s Tunstead Quarry, near Buxton, spent a day helping to repair a section of dry-stone wall near the North Lees campsite at Stanage.
Volunteers project assistant Nick Baker said: ‘This is a great example of the value of our new partnership with Tarmac. Dry-stone walls are a big part of the Peak District landscape and it is important that we keep them in good repair. But it’s a very time-consuming process and it would be difficult and expensive to complete the work without volunteer help.’
Volunteering is an important part of Tarmac’s strategy to have a positive impact on the communities in which they work. The company has set a target of delivering 50,000 volunteer hours per year by 2020 and will provide volunteering opportunities for employees in the Peak District National Park, supporting the internationally-recognized work of the Peak Park Conservation Volunteers (PPCV).
