On Sunday, Nestlé Fawdon embarked on an exciting project to encourage indigenous wildlife to return back to the site by planting an ecological sanctuary on the factory grounds.
Employees and their families were invited to plant a wild flower meadow within the factory grounds with the aim of attracting many species of butterfly back to the area as part of Nestlé’s vision to be recognised for leadership in environmental sustainability.
George Stewart Nestlé Fawdon Factory Manager said:
“It is great that employees and their families joined us to plant the meadow. Currently there are only a few butterfly species in the area but with the support of our employees and the local groups who have helped, our objective is to have more than 10 varieties on–site.”
Nestlé has worked closely with Natural England, the Northumberland Wildlife Trust and the local Butterfly Conversation Group to help create the butterfly meadow. The varieties that are regular visitors to the site are the Large White (Pieris brassicae) Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta). It is hoped that the meadow will attract another ten varieties including the Small Copper, Wall Brown and the Meadow Brown.
Fawdon Butterfly Meadow Identifier Panel (pdf, 2Mb)
The Fawdon employees are aiming to log the butterfly population on a daily basis noting down the varieties and numbers and fed into the local Wildlife Trust as part of a campaign to gauge butterfly numbers across the region and the UK.
Inder Poonaji, Head of Safety, Health and Environmental Sustainability Nestlé UK said:
“We want to add value to the natural environment by engaging our employees and their families and work with local specialist group such as the wildlife trust and butterfly conservation to enhance and provide mini sanctuaries for butterflies.”
David Stebbings, Conservation Officer for Northumberland Butterfly Conservation North East England Branch:
"Butterfly Conservation in the North East is very pleased to be working with Nestle to create a flower rich meadow for butterflies in their Fawdon factory grounds. This new habitat will attract a variety of butterflies and will significantly increase biodiversity in an urban area. Nestle and its enthusiastic staff should be congratulated on their commitment to nature and biodiversity."
Duncan Hutt, Head of Land Management, Northumberland Wildlife Trust said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity to work with Nestle to develop a great new meadow for butterflies. There is the potential to bring 10 or more species into the factory grounds and we will be fascinated to see how it develops over this summer and the next few years.”
Nestlé Fawdon has more than 500 employees and is the home of famous brands such as Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles, Rolo, Munchies, Breakaway and Blue Riband. Contact Nestlé Press Office on 020 8667 6005 [email protected].