The conservation area – half an acre on Cambridge University Press's Shaftesbury Road site – was set up in January 2011 and since then, staff volunteers have given over 350 hours to help conserve wildlife.
The area was set up as part of the Wildlife Trust's 'Living Landscapes' initiative, which aims to provide safe linking 'corridors' for wildlife in today's urban landscapes.
Volunteers have helped by digging ponds, planting native plants and trees, building bird and bat nesting boxes, installing insect 'hotels' and log piles, and helping to monitor the increasing wildlife in the area. So far the conservation area has attracted 86 species.
Recent sightings include tree bumble bees (which have only been in this country from 2001), smooth newts, bank voles, soprano and common pipistrelle bats, and a possible new badger sett nearby that the Cambridge Mammal Group are helping to confirm.
The conservation area has proved not only a valuable resource for local wildlife, but has been enjoyed by staff and the local community too; with public events like the 'Big Draw' held there, encouraging children to appreciate the wildlife around them through art.
Business in the Community awarded the work on the conservation area 'Highly Commended' in the Employee Volunteering Team of the Year Award at the East of England BITC awards, with the Wildlife Gardening at Work Award presented by the Wildlife Trust at their awards night in the same week.
Reproduced courtesy of Cambridge University Press.
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