Working with partners, Nature After Minerals is here to offer and share best-practice advice on biodiversity-led minerals restoration.
Safeguarding soil during mineral extraction
Soil is a fundamental natural resource that links the different components of our environment. In addition to food production, soil provides many functions, storing vast quantities of carbon, buffering pollution and supporting many forms of life. Safeguarding soil on mineral sites is a key to achieving sustainable development.
RSPB Langford Lowfields artificial sand martin bank creation
At Langford Lowfields, a 175ha reedbed restoration reserve, Sandinyoureye sand sculptors and RSPB designed and created an artificial sand martin bank that is purpose built to look and function as naturally as possible with sand martin nesting ecology. Partnership project delivered by RSPB and Lafarge Tarmac with support from Sita funding and construction by Sandinyoureye Ltd.
Nature Before Minerals at Sandy Heath Quarry
Sandy Heath is an active sand and gravel quarry, adjacent to the RSPB’s headquarters and nature reserve at The Lodge in Bedfordshire.
Natural regeneration: Its role in mineral site restoration
Mineral sites provide excellent opportunities for natural regeneration and natural habitat succession. Once common in the wider countryside, these important ecological processes and the habitats they support are now limited due to changes in agriculture and an intensification of land use.
Case studies
Our Case Studies pages showcase the great work which is already being undertaken across the minerals and planning sectors to help enhance and protect the natural world and leave a lasting legacy for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations.
