In a bid to give back to nature, two major businesses have joined forces with a village primary school in South East Northumberland to build a bug hotel in the school’s grounds.
Staff from North Sea Link and GRAHAM Construction have been working with pupils from Cambois Primary School to design and build the hotel using leftover building materials like wooden pallets, bricks and roofing tiles as well as natural materials like bamboo canes, pine cones and dry leaves to create a safe haven for insects and small wildlife.
Designed to benefit at-risk species such as bumblebees, as well as creatures like birds and hedgehogs, this is the second bug hotel that GRAHAM has built locally, the first being on the site of the North Sea Link converter station in Cambois that the firm is currently completing enabling works on.
GRAHAM provided all of the building materials for the bug hotel and hosted a workshop at the school to teach the children why it is important to care for the environment.
Grace Rodgers, site agent at GRAHAM Construction, said:
“At GRAHAM we are always looking for ways to reduce the impact our business has on the environment and to enhance it where possible.
“As part of the site enabling works, we have promoted an environmental initiative involving the construction of a bug hotel to encourage biodiversity on site, by providing hidey-holes for creatures galore. We have also joined up with Cambois Primary School to build another bug hotel to inspire pupils to take an interest in caring for the environment.
“As part of our commitment to sustainability, GRAHAM has also signed up to the Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) for the North Sea Link Enabling Works Project. The CCS aims to improve the image of construction by encouraging the contractors to raise environmental and safety standards on site and encourage positive interactions with their workforce and local community.”
GRAHAM is the first contractor to carry out onshore works as part of the North Sea Link Interconnector project, constructing the base platform for the infrastructure, establishing access to the site and putting preliminary enabling works in place such as drainage and fencing.
The North Sea Link Interconnector is a joint project between Statnett and National Grid who are working together to construct an electricity link between Norway and the UK. North Sea Link will connect the electricity systems of the two countries via high voltage subsea cables from Kvilldal in Norway to Blyth, with onshore infrastructure located at Cambois.
Passing through Norwegian and British waters, North Sea Link will be operational in 2021 and will be the longest subsea interconnector in the world.
Mike James, site manager at North Sea Link, said:
“We were delighted to assist GRAHAM Construction with their bug hotel project at Cambois Primary School.
“Having worked on a number of community projects with the school over the last 18 months, we have a really good working relationship with the staff and pupils, so we were more than happy to make introductions on GRAHAM’s behalf.”
Marianne Allan, head teacher at Cambois Primary School, said:
“The children thoroughly enjoyed the day that they spent with the team from GRAHAM Construction building the bug hotel and learning about the different habitats that different creatures like to live in.
“We are delighted that businesses such as GRAHAM and North Sea Link are taking such an active interest in our school, so on behalf of all of the staff and pupils, I would like to thank both firms for their continued support.”
To find out more about the North Sea Link Interconnector project, visit www.northsealink.com or for more information about GRAHAM, visit www.graham.co.uk.