A CEMEX and RSPB team recently visited Kensworth quarry, to refresh an older permitted restoration scheme and create a pioneer chalk specialist habitat.

CEMEX landscape architect, Alison Wise, and the RSPB worked alongside each other to reprioritise the Kensworth quarry scheme.  They are planning to pioneer a specialist chalk habitat for wildflowers and invertebrates. It will include the creation of bare chalk banks for butterflies and create several hectares of vital scrub habitat for the UK’s fastest declining species of Turtle Dove.

The previous scheme was to overlay the bare chalk with soils to produce lay-grassland and woodland, but this would limit the sites potential to deliver a rare and declining, species rich chalk grassland (which has seen a 94% decline in recent years).

The new scheme has also resulted in projected savings. A conservative estimate gives savings upwards of 64% on the new scheme and 55% through aftercare management by grazing, over the lifetime of the quarry. Savings will be made by using best practice conservation techniques such as green haying from local SSSI, and the proposed introduction of sheep grazing as aftercare.

The partnership is motivated to showcase to the industry that you can deliver better solutions for nature and save money too. The new scheme is better for wildlife priorities, sustainable techniques and managed by working with ecological processes.

Over the last 10 to 15 years CEMEX has come to understand that delivering restorations for nature reputationally and ethically is the right thing to do. However, often delivering quality nature habitats has been perceived to incur additional costs. The RSPB and CEMEX are challenging that perception, working together to refresh the view of how things are or should be done.

One of the benefits of this partnership is our access to the RSPB’s wealth of experience in creating and restoring habitats; through working with natural process – facilitating nature ‘doing its own thing’ in the right place, based on a sensible soils and habitat approach. The Kensworth quarry savings are extraordinary and are unlikely to be replicated on such a scale elsewhere. Nevertheless, the CEMEX Planning and Restoration team and the RSPB are investigating how these approaches can be applied at other sites to improve nature conservation outcomes and we estimate most sites will incur some efficiencies.

RSPB and CEMEX have worked together for over a decade on scheme design, restoration, and after management of their sites.