BJSS announces programme to restore 125 acres of Yorkshire Dales
Technology and engineering consultancy BJSS has announced a new programme to preserve and restore a core meadow of the Yorkshire Dales. The project will aim to boost bio-diversity in the area, by helping to protect a hay meadow.
As the UK sweats its way through record 40C days, and scientists continue to warn of record levels of water-way pollution, the importance of biodiversity cannot be underestimated when it comes to helping the country recover. Biodiversity provides functioning ecosystems that supply oxygen, clean air and water, pollination of plants, pest control, and wastewater treatment. Healthy ecosystems are also more resilient to climate change and so more able to maintain the supply of ecosystem services on which human prosperity and wellbeing depend.
However, biodiversity is in a crisis of its own across Britain. Hay meadows are among the most biodiversity-rich terrestrial ecosystems, but modern life has made these green spaces a rarity. Illustrating this, the nation’s wildflower meadows are rapidly declining, for example, with around 95% disappearing over the last 50 years. One project from consulting firm BJSS is looking to turn the tide on this front, though.
Looking ahead, BJSS aims to preserve and restore over 125 acres of land in the Yorkshire Dales. The large hay meadow, three miles northeast of the Ling Gill National Nature Reserve in the Yorkshire Dales, partly comprises a Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to its rich biodiversity.
Mark Robison, Board Director at BJSS, commented, “As a successful and growing technology company that champions sustainability through our work and the solutions we offer, we believe that we have an urgent responsibility to protect the natural environment we all benefit from as we continue to expand our operations. This restoration programme will be pivotal in helping us achieve our wider net-zero aspirations.”
With its recent initiative, BJSS has assured the long-term protection of the site and, alongside local farmers and conservation charities, is looking at ways to further enrich the land with plans to extend the SSSI site and reintroduce native broadleaf trees to the surrounding area. In an announcement, BJSS stated that its first restoration efforts, commencing in the autumn, would include a detailed survey of the SSSI and neighbouring land to understand the botanical features and habitat types, before botanical surveys, soil sampling, collecting seeds, and evaluating the area’s previous management regime would lead to a forest design process.
This will culminate in the planting of over 20 hectares of native broadleaf forest alongside the SSSI. At the same time, BJSS also hopes to create a habitat that attracts local wildlife. This includes the endangered red squirrel, which without conversation management, could become extinct in England in approximately 10 years.
It is work that many BJSS employees are excited to get underway, according to BJSS Co-Founder Andrew Vincent. The firm has long championed the increasing biodiversity and restoring natural beauty across the country.
Vincent added, “Our employees value that, as an organisation, we care deeply about the natural environment. There is a need for us all to do more, but there’s only so much we can do as individuals. Businesses hold the key to unlocking a more sustainable and environmentally friendly planet, and that’s why I’m delighted to see BJSS making moves to preserve and support local biodiversity.”