Biodiversity at Bühler UK
In October 2020, Sir David Attenborough released a new book and accompanying film entitled “A Life on Our Planet”. This hard-hitting book motivated the formation of a new group called the Wildlife Biodiversity Group (WBG). The WBG is voluntary group of employees at Bühler UK London (BUKL) with a common interest in biodiversity, with the aim of increasing biodiversity around the factory and office in London and to inspire others to take more interest in biodiversity.
Gabriel Hamid, March 31, 2022
The WBG has made a lot of progress over the past 15 months in planting flora to support local fauna, such as planting trees and meadows to provide food and cover for local bees, birds, and butterflies.
The weather in the UK is seasonal with a temperate climate. Winter runs from December to February. In December 2020, after seeking approval from the Facilities Manager, the WBG began its first activity to plant a hedge beside the fence along the east of the site. The weather was cold, the ground stony and unyielding. Yet, over a weekend, a small but hardy group of volunteers, equipped with shovels and bare-rooted hedge plants, set to work. The selected species of hedge plants are all known for being attractive to birds, such as Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna), Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus), Field Maple (Acer campestre) and Bird Cherry (Prunus padus).
After the harshness of the previous months, Spring is much welcome, a natural time of renewal and the unfurling of new life. In March 2021, the WBG held a regular quarterly meeting. Several proposals were made for new ideas -- decisions among the group are taken in a collegial manner -- and a plan was agreed to introduce two meadows. On the west side of the site, the turf was removed, non-peat compost added, and seeds were sown to create a new cornflower meadow. Whereas on the east side of the site, the existing turf was simply left to grow long into a meadow and spiked with 100 wildflower plug-plants. All the meadow plants were chosen for being particularly bee and butterfly friendly. The seeds sown in the east meadow included Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), Corncockle (Agrostemma githago) and Corn Marigold (Glebionis segetum); and the plug-plants in the west meadow included Wild Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) and Red Clover (Trifolium pratense).
It seemed to take ages for the seeds to germinate and for the plug plants to grow, but eventually a blanket of green covered both meadows. Then, after plenty of rain and some sunny days, growth accelerated, resulting in a beautiful display of colour and both plots became abuzz with bees, butterflies, and hoverflies. Unexpectedly, Field Poppies (Papaver rhoeas) also sprang-up among the new hedge, these vibrant red poppies had self-sown in the recently overturned soil. Summer was also a time for many sightings of wildlife, including Wagtails (Motacilla alba), Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis), and Peacock butterflies (Aglais io), as well as unexpected visitors of a Wasp Spider (Argiope bruennichiin) in the east meadow, a Tiger Moth (Arctia caja) resting on the office windows, and a Peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) flying high above the factory.
In July 2021, we organized a lunchtime tour to share what we have accomplished so far in the grounds at BUKL. Many appreciative comments were received, and widespread support for this initiative. Angela Forbes, reflecting back on the tour a few months later: “The Wildlife Biodiversity Group have done a wonderful job in creating urban wildlife areas at BUKL. The lunchtime tour was very interesting, as it attracted a variety of butterflies, which allowed us to do our bit for the UK Butterfly Count survey.”
Biodiversity is all the different types of life in an area, literally the ‘biological diversity’. In other words, the biodiversity is the variety and the number of all the animals, plants, fungi, and micro-organisms in that area. The area can be small or large, from a garden pond to the entire Amazon rainforest.
Biodiversity, aside from its own intrinsic value, is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth. Without a wide variety of animals, plants, and microorganisms, we cannot have healthy ecosystems that provide the air we breathe and the food we eat. An ecosystem is the biodiversity in an area, as well as how the different types of life interact with each other and their physical environment. Within an ecosystem the living and the environment are inter-connected through flows of compounds, nutrients, and energy, such as the carbon and nitrogen cycles. To protect ecosystems, requires protecting both the environment and biodiversity.
After the excitement of the summer tour, the Autumn was quiet. A small group of volunteers undertook a little gentle weeding among the hedge plants and sowed some harvested poppy seeds. At the quarterly meeting, we decided to plant trees in the south-east corner of the site, comprising six fruit trees and a small forest, or copse, of native trees. The fruit trees were purchased with the remainder of the budget allocated to the WBG, while the purchase of the native trees for the small forest was scheduled for the 2022 budget.
We also decided to introduce a tree nursery, with the intention of making the WBG more self-sufficient in future years. Seeds and berries were collected from native trees in the local area and planted in a small bedding area. If these seeds germinate then they will provide a free source of young trees to transplant to suitable locations around the site in future years.
Since the Autumn, Brice Thurin has led the planting of the six fruit trees and Jamie Mitchinson has led the planting of the saplings for the small forest, these saplings are between 1 and 2 meters tall. Beyond that, there are plans to expand both the existing meadows, which is a low-cost activity, and next year to introduce a pond. So far, the WBG has expanded to seventeen people, and a Teams channel has become the focal point for sharing and coordination amongst the group.
Setting up the WBG was straightforward, firstly getting the support & approval from our local Facilities Manager, John Deans, and our local Financial Director, Claudia Gossweiler, who introduced a small budget for biodiversity activities. Then advertising for anyone interested to join. The administration of the WBG is kept simple: any member of the group can propose a new activity, but only activities that are approved by the Facilities Manager are implemented, and a team leader is nominated to lead each approved activity. We also joined Restor, which is a free online data platform to connect restorers of biodiversity. The WBG always acts in-line with the smooth operation of the site, and we monitor activities for effectiveness and any unintended consequences, because working with nature is not an exact science.
We must do everything in our power to protect and restore biodiversity. Thanks Gabriel, Jamie and colleagues for this example, I hope we will see this replicated across Bühler sites.
Tom Crowther,
Professor for Ecosystem Ecology and Founder of Restor
This article is being published to coincide with a Gen-B global launch on the topic of Biodiversity, and the introduction of a global Knowledge SharePoint entitled Biodiversity. Our hope is that other Bühler locations will also do more to support biodiversity in their local area. If you feel inspired to introduce a local biodiversity group at your location, or are already undertaking biodiversity activities, or seeking further information then please contact the author directly at gabriel.hamid@buhlergroup.com.
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