The BIG Challenge – Championing biodiversity in the construction industry

We are all very aware how biodiversity has been compromised over the years and our Wildflower Turf products continue to aid both the construction and landscaping industries deliver guaranteed biodiversity enhancement where development is taking place. Increasing biodiversity within both urban and rural landscapes is fundamental to our company values and why we are really proud to be sponsoring the ‘Overall Winner’ category in the BIG Challenge awards that champion biodiversity in the construction industry.The BIG Challenge
Biodiversity enhancement should be at the heart of design and engineering processes although knowing where to start and how to incorporate them into developments can be daunting.
The BIG challenge launched in 2013 to encourage organisations to make one biodiversity enhancement on each construction site, development or building.
The enhancements can be as simple as adding hanging baskets with native wildflowers, creating bug hotels, rain gardens, planted cycle locks and skip gardens. They can be permanent features for the development or temporary during the construction phase. There are over 35 organisations currently signed up to participate and the Big Challenge website features the competition entrants case studies.
The challenge aims to demonstrate that small enhancements are the crucial first step in engaging with and understanding biodiversity. It is hoped that the Challenge will gain enough momentum to ensure that biodiversity becomes a much greater consideration in towns and cities than is currently the case.
To mark one year of the BIG Challenge, an awards ceremony will be held to reward projects which go beyond normal business practice to enhance biodiveristy. The BIG Challenge awards will be hosted on 14 October 2014 at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew in London.
If you have been involved in a construction project that has featured an innovative biodiversity enhancement, then we hope you might consider entering the competition. The overall winner will receive ‘an instant wildflower meadow’, provided by Wildflower Turf Ltd. This will include:

  • an on-site consultancy or CPD visit from MD James Hewetson-Brown

  • up to 4 spaces on Wildflower Turf Ltd.’s popular Accredited Partners training scheme (a pragmatic and practical days training covering the establishment and maintenance of wildflowers)

  • up to 200m² of Wildflower Turf products to suit the winners site

This will enable the winner to establish a long lasting, instant biodiverse meadow that is species rich and full of colour and provide the knowledge to maintain the wildflowers in the future.

For more information and to sign up your project go to the BIG Challenge website.