Science company marks 20 years' partnership with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
Lubrizol takes a walk on the wild side as it marks 20 years partnership with Derbyshire Wildlife Trust
A science company which shares its beautiful rural premises with hares, kestrels and butterflies is celebrating 20 years’ corporate partnership with the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.
Lubrizol, based in an old stately home set in lush green landscape and woodland in Hazelwood, near Belper, first became a corporate partner of the nature conservation charity in 2003.
Over the 20-year period the science company has made many efforts to look after the wildlife on the company’s land, including conducting weekly butterfly monitoring, putting up bird boxes and creating a wildflower area.
Lubrizol employees have also volunteered for Aqueduct Cottage, which is set in Lea Wood near Cromford – land owned and managed by the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust.
Claire Hollingshurst, from Lubrizol’s charities and communities committee, said: “One of the reasons why we partnered with the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is because of our site and the location that we are in. We have a lot of wildlife on site and because of that, we want to make sure whatever we do, we are minimising our impact on our wildlife.”
Lubrizol’s acres of land at Hazelwood is home not just to the 350 people who work there, but hares, rabbits, woodpeckers, kestrels, owls, bats, butterflies, deer, squirrels, and many more creatures.
As part of its partnership, employees benefit from wellbeing workshops organised by the trust, as well as gaining knowledge about the wildlife with which they are sharing the site through environmental reports.
Employees are encouraged to get involved with nature through the creation of a new on-site gardening club as well as lunchtime walks through their beautiful grounds.
The trust’s role in Derbyshire is to protect and enhance its wildlife and habitats. This is achieved through acquiring land for nature management, introducing species, organising public events and running nature reserves. Central to the trust’s aims are that a third of the county should be managed for nature by 2030, and that one in four people should be active within the natural environment.
Over the past couple of years Derbyshire Wildlife Trust has taken over managing Derwent Meadows Nature Reserve next to Alvaston business park; reintroduced beavers back to Willington wetlands, and secured 60 acres of land at Old Whittington north of Chesterfield for re-wilding.
The trust has more than 40 corporate partner businesses across Derbyshire, including Lubrizol, Toyota, Breedon Group, Trent Barton, Been Café and TDP.
Paul Hodges, corporate partnerships manager at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, said: “It’s been great to have partnered with Lubrizol for 20 years. Their employees are always very open to volunteering, for example, at Aqueduct Cottage.
“From a personal point of view, I really enjoy going out and speaking to the corporate partners we work with. There are a lot of passionate people out there in Derbyshire. It is really nice to see businesses taking action and becoming a corporate partner, like Lubrizol. Companies are trying to make a difference and having one which has been around for 20 years shows that.
“That shows it’s not just a one-off action that they are doing because it’s a good idea at the time, it’s actually a long-term commitment from them."
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is inviting residents across the county to Wilder Shipley, a full day of free activities to celebrate nature on Saturday 30 September at the Shipley Country Park. Staff and volunteers from the Trust will be joined by special guests and artists to deliver a host of wild activities designed to get people involved in growing a vision for a greener, wilder Derbyshire. Find out more about the Wild About Shipley event at Shipley Park and book a place via their website.