Tarmac go nuts on National Squirrel Day
Company joins forces with local group to help protect and conserve red squirrels at Harden Quarry
TARMAC used National Squirrel Day (Tuesday 21 January) as the perfect opportunity to shine a spotlight on some very special visitors to Harden Quarry, in Northumberland.
The team at the site has joined forces with Coquetdale Squirrel Group and Red Squirrels Northern England to help protect and conserve the rare red squirrels that visit the quarry, one of the few places in England where red squirrels can still be found.
Gareth Williams, quarry manager at Harden, said: ‘We are extremely lucky to have red squirrels regularly visit the site. The team at the quarry has set up a feeding station and has been working to monitor the number of visitors we get.
‘In fact, two Tarmac employees have been trained as official Red Squirrel Wardens and work together to monitor their activities.’
The unusual role of squirrel warden involves monitoring and recording the squirrels that visit over a two-week period on a quarterly basis using motion-capture cameras. Once the monitoring period is over the cameras are removed, images are downloaded and a reporting is form completed.
Dave Robinson of Coquetdale Squirrel Group said: ‘Harden Quarry and the neighbouring village of Biddlestone remain a great place to chance upon red squirrels. We are grateful for the work Tarmac do to help us capture this data.’
