Environmental excellence award for North Cave Wetlands

WINNER: North Cave Wetlands. Picture: Joanna Richards

Nature and industry in harmony

December 2011: The North Cave Wetlands Reserve team at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust have been awarded the Humber INCA Award for Environmental Excellence 2011 at Hull's Humber Estuary Conference.

The Humber INCA mission is ‘industry and nature in harmony' and the annual award is a celebration of outstanding contributions by individuals or organisations made to enhance the ecology and environment of the Humber area.

North Cave Wetlands nature reserve has been developed in close collaboration with Humberside Aggregates. The reserve is an outstanding example of how an industrial landscape can be restored for the benefit of wildlife and people.

Now home to breeding avocets
The sand and gravel quarries covering approximately 20ha were landscaped to form a habitat for large numbers of wildfowl and waders, including breeding avocets. It is the home to many other passing, wintering and breeding birds, in addition to species of dragonflies and butterflies.

A circular walk provides public access around the reserve, and a new hide built of sustainable materials with a panoramic view of the entire site was opened this summer.

Two further phases of the North Cave project will see the Trust and Humberside Aggregates work together to develop areas of flood meadow and three additional lakes, returning to nature 100ha of industrial landscape within the next ten years.

Above and beyond what was required
At the conference Andrew Gibson, nature reserves officer for the Outer Humber explained how Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are working to connect important wildlife areas in the Outer Humber region, as part of the trust's Living Landscape scheme.

Caroline Comins, the regional reserves manager of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust received the award from Sarah Smith, chair of Humber INCA, alongside Bill Wilcox, a partner of Humberside Aggregates. Caroline said: 'We're thrilled to receive the award and would like to thank Humber INCA for presenting it to North Cave Wetlands.

'Humberside Aggregates have worked above and beyond what was required of them through the planning process, as have the existing and previous staff team at YWT who have been involved with the reserve over the years, and the local supporters' group who manage the reserve on a day-to-day basis and have been key in helping with the development of the reserve too.'

More about North Cave Wetlands Nature Reserve