The Grantham Southern Relief Road project team shared the importance of ecology and biodiversity during a presentation at Belmont Community Primary School in early February.
Galliford Try Liaison Manager, Gino Salvatore, and Paul Thomas, Environmental Manager, discussed local ecology and the measures taken to protect the habitat and wildlife whilst delivering a major project.
A representative from Belmont Community Primary School said: "We were very pleased to welcome Paul and Gino from the construction firm Galliford Try to Belmont.
"They came in to talk to the children about the importance of ecology and biodiversity. The firm is constructing a road near the A1, and they explained to the children how their company protects the habitats of birds, animals and plants.
"Nesting birds, badgers and the great crested newt are legally protected species that are particularly vulnerable in our area. Sometimes it is difficult to avoid disturbance to habitats and Paul explained how they try to mitigate any damage.
"For example, they carefully select the time of year to build to avoid breeding seasons and provide bird boxes or new setts for the badgers if necessary. They also ensure they collect the newts from off the sites and move them to a safer area outside the perimeter.
Gino Salvatore said: "The pupils at Belmont were fantastic and took a real interest in what we were saying, we had some great questions. It's important to ensure people know that we spend a lot of time at preconstruction stage understanding the habitat we will be working in to develop a project specific environmental protection plan”
"We love visiting local schools to give young people an understanding of what we do. Our hope is that some of them will take an interest in construction and eventually become part of our country's next generation of civil engineers."