Volunteers looking after Brundall Gardens station are the first in the country to snag a new ‘Wildlife Friendly’ accreditation, Greater Anglia has said.
They have been awarded for their work in improving biodiversity.
The train operator has been working with Norfolk Wildlife Trust to informally recognise the work of its station adopters, establishing a new Greater Anglia Wildlife Friendly Stations Accreditation Scheme.
The certification was presented to Greg Chandler and Gillian Lincoln by Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s corporate and membership development officer, James Hogg.
Three more stations are set to be presented with the new status this week: Cantley, West Runton and Thetford, following an assessment.
James Hogg said: “The alarming decline in the abundance of wildlife and the plight of species under threat means that just protecting the nature we have left is not enough; we need to put nature into recovery, and to do so at scale and with urgency. We are working to create a nature recovery network across Norfolk – and with fellow wildlife trusts across the UK – to create more space for wildlife.
“This project with Greater Anglia is a fantastic example of how people can transform nature-poor areas into new nature-rich places – and change the way we think about land, seizing opportunities to help nature outside traditional nature reserves.”
Every assessment is accompanied by tips and advice for how to make the stations more wildlife-friendly. The resulting reports can be used as examples of best practice to help spread good ideas around all of Greater Anglia’s stations.
Greater Anglia’s customer and community engagement manager, Alan Neville, said, “We’re delighted to partner with the region’s wildlife trusts to formally recognise the valuable work of our station adopter volunteers in supporting wildlife and improving their local environment.”
“I’d like to congratulate the volunteers at Brundall Gardens on receiving this recognition and thank them for the incredible work that are doing that makes the station a wonderful place to be, that is contributing to support biodiversity locally.”
Volunteers for Greater Anglia last year transformed more than 6,800 square metres of land into thriving wildlife gardens. Creatures visiting the stations include different types of butterflies as well as bees, slow worms, bats, foxes, deer and many varieties of birds, recording more than 200 different species.
Work across the stations is guided by the rail industry’s ‘Sustainable Stations: Best Practice Guide’. This details ways train operators can support global goals of decarbonisation, cut waste and help local plant and animal life.
Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s vision for a Nature Recovery Network wants to see a landscape in which nature reserves are connected by corridors of habitat — allowing wild species and their genes flow freely. Importantly, it wants to see people personally connected to wildlife and wild landscapes, for their own wellbeing and for the benefit of nature.
