Batts Combe community project wins top biodiversity prize

A community-led biodiversity project based at our Batts Combe quarry has won the UK community stream of the Quarry Life Award, Heidelberg Materials’ nature-based competition.

Axe Valley Men’s Shed, a social group that supports men’s mental health and wellbeing through practical skills and initiatives, in partnership with the Somerset Earth Science Centre, a charity dedicated to educating people about the mineral extraction industry and its relationship with the environment, claimed the £4,000 prize at an awards ceremony held at Heidelberg Material UK’s head office in Maidenhead.

The Bug Big Build project involved the design and construction of a bug hotel shaped like a quarry truck that serves as a habitat for a variety of insects that are vital for a healthy ecosystem.

Engaging the local community

The judging panel, which included representatives from RSPB, were particularly impressed with the project team’s engagement with local schools, who were invited to take part in a competition to name the bug hotel. The chosen name, the Creepy Crawler Hauler, was submitted by seven-year-old Isaac Parsons from Axbridge First School, who attended the naming ceremony at the quarry.

Gill Odolphie, Education Manager at Somerset Earth Science Centre, said: “This award shows that what we’ve done is really valued. We have big ambitions to roll out this project and have bug hotels across the UK to provide habitats for even more insects.”

Andy Laken, Chair of Axe Valley Men’s Shed, added: “It’s been really enjoyable to be involved in this project, helping to educate children and spread the word about preserving insect habitats.”

The community stream of the competition is aimed at individuals, community groups and schools, to help quarry sites better connect with neighbours and raise awareness among the wider public of the biodiversity at extraction sites.

Marian Garfield, Sustainability Director at Heidelberg Materials UK, said: “This project was a great example of strengthening quarry connection with the community. It was truly a collaborative effort, involving many members of community groups and local schools.”

Improving biodiversity in quarries

There is also a research stream of the competition, aimed at academics, to increase knowledge of quarry-specific ecology and lead to improved biodiversity, landscape or water management. The winning project in this stream was an experiment with grazing in limestone habitats at Horton quarry in the Yorkshire Dales National Park, carried out by Dr Carly Stevens, Professor of Plant Ecology and Soil Biogeochemistry at Lancaster University.
The UK Quarry Life Award runners-up were:

• Rocks, humans, nature – stone circle pilgrims at Bulls Lodge quarry, sculptor Billie Bond and photographer, Angus Stewart.
• Stuck in the mud: Quarry lake sediments as long-term pollution traps at Barton quarry, Loughborough University.
• Exploring the implications of seed mix choice on the restoration of biodiverse grasslands at Grange Top quarry in Ketton, Cranfield University.
• What’s the best restoration? A survey, analysis and evaluation of restoration opportunities at Glebe Farm, Bubbenhall quarry, Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Dunsmore Living Landscape Scheme.

Quarrying operations at Batts Combe date back around 130 years and today the limestone extracted is used in ready-mixed and precast concrete products as well as asphalt for road construction and maintenance.