recycle-more attends sustainability day at Givaudan
recycle-more would like to thank Givaudan for inviting us to their sustainability day that took place Thursday 18th June, at their Ashford site in Kent. It was a glorious sunny day set in idyllic surroundings, making it hard for the team to remember that we were technically working - especially with dragon flies landing on our display stands whilst being engulfed in wild flowers. The day was to celebrate the launch of their Great Stour Meadow which has been created to develop various habitats hoping to see a wider diversity of flora and fauna in the future.

  Givaudan have been working closely with the Environment Agency and the
  Kentish Stour Countryside Project, along with help from staff members and contractors.

The Great Stour Meadow forms part of the Givaudan site and is bordered by the River Great Stour. Givaudan works to encourage biodiversity across all parts of the site and took the meadow area back into its own management some years ago as a natural place to concentrate activities to foster and encourage biodiversity. Previously used for farming, the land was deliberately returned to become a wild flower meadow that could be home to small mammals and insects . Two ponds were constructed as well as river bays and an otter holt and owl nest boxes and kingfisher perches were erected.

In 2008 volunteer employees established a work programme to enhance the area further, and these "Great Stour Meadow Project" activities included:

• The construction of an all-weather path to gain access to the large pond
• The construction of a "dipping platform" to allow visitors to see wildlife in the large pond. This work, which involved contractors and employees, is a key part of the site's project to work with local primary schools
• The planting by employees of a small copse of native woodland trees to provide shade around the large pond
• The construction of a hibernaculum for reptiles, including frogs, lizards and newts,
  to hibernate over the winter
• The preparation of seed beds and planting of wild flower seed mixes to enhance
  the colour and display of flowers in spring

A variety of other sustainability based organisations attended including:

Energy Saving Trust, Kentish Stour Countryside Project, BTCV, Activ Cycles, SolarAge, Cycle Circle, Rainwater Storage Solutions, and Kent County Council.

Everyone had a great day (as you can see from the pictures below) and found it extremely informative. If this has inspired you to volunteer your time to help out with a project in your local area please see Muck In 4 Life or BTCV for ideas.

For more information about recycling at work, recycling tips, and where to recycle using the bank locator.