Educating Pupils on Environmental Awareness

As part of our goodwill pledge and giving something back to the communities in which we work, our Group Environmental Quality Adviser visited a local primary school within the area where we are currently working in.

The pupils were treated to an environmental talk on the protected Lapwing species which inhabit the ASSI on the construction site itself, and the importance of them, both to our ecosystems and natural environment.

Along with a donation of a bird table to the school, we also had our lapwing stuffed-toy site mascot present, where pupils were able to see its distinctive colours and hear its distinctive bird call. They were informed that the bird is on the IUCN Red List species, which are under threat from extinction, so incorporation of protection and enhancement of their habitats within the design and construction phase within our construction site are crucial to maintain the bird population numbers in this area.

The donation of the bird table to the primary school was in line with bird nesting season, to encourage many bird species to visit the area for shelter and food, providing a visual outlook to the students.

We have also produced a Wildlife Identification Card, which is available as a ‘pocket guide’ to all of our site team, including our supply chain, as a means of raising awareness and the importance of protecting our local environment and ecosystems.

These have gone further than the site perimeter as they have been distributed to local schools that we have visited to raise awareness of the lapwing bird, which are low in numbers. By doing so, we are educating young children in the importance of conserving them, as well as getting involved with the RSPB to report sightings.