Rolls-Royce Motor Cars PressClub · Article.
ROLLS-ROYCE REVEALS TRANSFORMATION OF WILDLIFE GARDEN
08.09.2022 Press Release
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has celebrated the completion of its project to update the Wildlife Garden at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in a grand reopening ceremony.
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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
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Author.
Andrew Ball
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
- Rolls-Royce Motor Cars completes the rejuvenation of its Wildlife Garden at the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood
- Incorporates elements of the winning design from the children's Wildlife Garden Competition held during 2021
- New features provide valuable habitat for animals, birds and insects, and enhanced activity spaces for local schools and the community
- Updates to this valuable and well-established area of the Goodwood site form part of the wider rejuvenation, in line with current conservation thinking and practice, particularly rewilding and the creation of wildlife corridors
“Today marks the successful conclusion of a project very dear
to the hearts of everyone at the Home of Rolls-Royce. The Wildlife
Garden, created when the site was first developed almost 20 years
ago, has always been one of our most popular initiatives, used
extensively by local schoolchildren, as well as our own employees.
Now enhanced with a range of new features, it offers even more
opportunities to spend time outdoors in nature, with all the
physical and mental health benefits that brings."
Andrew Ball, Head of Corporate Relations, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has celebrated the completion of its
project to update the Wildlife Garden at the Home of Rolls-Royce at
Goodwood in a grand reopening ceremony.
Occupying a small, secluded area just inside the main gates, the
Wildlife Garden supports a wide variety of plants, insects, birds and
animals native to the South of England.
The rejuvenation, carried out in partnership with Chichester
District Council and the South Downs National Park Trust, reflects
changes in conservation thinking and practice since the Wildlife
Garden was established almost 20 years ago, as part of the original
landscaping of the 42-acre Goodwood site.
One of the project's central themes is 'rewilding', recognised
by conservationists and bodies including the United Nations, as a
crucial tool in preserving functional ecosystems and reducing
biodiversity loss. Rewilding involves returning land to its former
uncultivated state, connecting habitats by creating 'wildlife
corridors' and moving towards a more natural ecosystem with reduced
human intervention and management.
The Wildlife Garden is now one of 60 sites in seven corridors
that together form the Strategic Wildlife Corridor. This pioneering
rewilding initiative connects the South Downs National Park to
Chichester and Pagham Harbours, both of which have numerous
conservation designations including Local Nature Reserve (LNR),
Special Protection Area (SPA) and Site of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI). Formally approved by Chichester District Council in 2021, this
is the first time that wildlife corridors have been strategically
included in planning policies anywhere in the UK.
As part of the Strategic Wildlife Corridor, the Wildlife Garden
will play an important role in protecting biodiversity, particularly
honeybees, bumblebees, butterflies and other pollinators, by
reconnecting habitat areas previously fragmented by human activity.
The updated Garden also incorporates elements of the winning
design from the Wildlife Garden Competition held in 2021, in which
children aged 5-11 were invited to submit ideas for new features that
would benefit both wildlife and people.
Iris, then aged eight, created Tiggy Town, to help
support the UK’s wild hedgehog population, which is in critical
decline. Her individual hedgehog houses, each with its own address,
have been lovingly made to her design by Apprentices in the Interior
Surface Centre. The department has also produced beautiful Bespoke
nest-boxes for birds, bats, dormice and solitary bees and a new sign
at the entrance.
Another of Iris's key design features, 'hedgehog highways' in
the fences, are formed from recycled terracotta pipes which have been
cut in half to form an archway for the hedgehogs to pass under. The
Garden's centrepiece is a new pond, shallow enough for hedgehogs to
drink from and bathe in safely, with a boardwalk enabling them to
climb out should they become tired.
Some welcome additions to the project also included a new
seating area created using recycled wooden pallets, a newly rebuilt
entrance gate and the creation of a safe bark pathway through the Garden.
Andrew Ball said, "This project is so full of positives,
involving children's imagination and creativity, collaboration between
Rolls-Royce and our local community, real generosity of spirit and a
great sense of shared enterprise and teamwork - all in the name of
supporting our fantastic local wildlife. We're particularly excited to
be part of wider rewilding and wildlife corridor creation projects
that support biodiversity far beyond our own boundaries. This update
will ensure the Wildlife Garden remains a truly valuable resource for
people and nature alike for many years to come."