On Friday, Nestlé Tutbury embarked on an exciting project to encourage indigenous wildlife to return back to the Hatton site by planting an ecological sanctuary on its grounds.
Pupils in Year 6 at Heath Fields School in Hatton were visited by employees from Nestlé to learn all about the importance of butterflies and shown the types of butterfly species that are present in the area and the species Nestlé hope to attract with their help.
After donning waterproofs and wellies the group of 27 children were taken to a field in the factory grounds where they sowed meadow flower seeds and planted wildflowers. They also helped to plant six willow trees and an oak tree 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.
Gavin Burton, Nestlé Tutbury Factory Manager said: “It is great that local school children 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 Heath Fields School who have helped; our objective is to have more than 12 varieties on-site.”
Nestlé has worked closely with the Big Butterfly Count and Derbyshire Wildlife Trust 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, Gate Keeper (Pyronia tithonus) and the Meadow Brown.
Later in the year a wooden hut will be put up in the corner by the trees with identification cards and posters so the butterfly species can be identified and logged 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: “In 2011 we created our first butterfly meadow at our factory in Fawdon, followed by one at Nestle waters site in Buxton; we aim to create these meadows across all our sites in the coming years. Butterfly numbers not only indicate the environmental health of an area, but also increase biodiversity by attracting a range of other species.”
Ken Orpe from Big Butterfly Count said: “We have already carried out an initial butterfly survey on the site and are very pleased to be working with Nestlé to create a flower rich meadow for butterflies in their factory grounds. This new habitat will attract a variety of butterflies and will significantly increase biodiversity in an urban area. Nestlé and its enthusiastic staff should be congratulated on their commitment to nature and biodiversity."
Tim Brooks, of Derbyshire 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 12 or more species into the factory grounds and we will be fascinated to see how it develops over the next few years.”
Nestlé Tutbury has more than 600 employees and is the home of NESCAFÉ and Dolce Gusto coffee. The factory is currently undergoing a £310 million modernisation programme.
For more information, please contact Nestlé Press Office on 020 8667 6005 [email protected]