Appeal to help wildlife thrive on industrial estate

Businesses are being invited to get involved in efforts to improve an industrial estate for wildlife.
By The Newsroom
Published 16th Apr 2018, 12:57 BST
Updated 16th Apr 2018, 13:01 BST
At Wapping Burn are, from left, Wear Rivers Trust secretary Neil Ashforth, local volunteer William Wilkinson, Sandra Wardle from Novus Business Centre , Jim Wood from Caterpillar, and local volunteer Gary Smith helping out with the final day wetland planting task.At Wapping Burn are, from left, Wear Rivers Trust secretary Neil Ashforth, local volunteer William Wilkinson, Sandra Wardle from Novus Business Centre , Jim Wood from Caterpillar, and local volunteer Gary Smith helping out with the final day wetland planting task.
At Wapping Burn are, from left, Wear Rivers Trust secretary Neil Ashforth, local volunteer William Wilkinson, Sandra Wardle from Novus Business Centre , Jim Wood from Caterpillar, and local volunteer Gary Smith helping out with the final day wetland planting task.

The Wear Rivers Trust along with the help of local businesses has been breathing new life into the Wapping Burn, which runs through Peterlee Industrial Estate, following recent landscaping works to enhance the previously damaged channel.

Local businesses have been involved in the project since 2014, and the trust is now appealing for support from others to manage the newly-restored sites and deliver further improvements to other sections downstream.

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A series of monthly team building work parties to help carry out weed control, litter picks, wetland and tree planting, vegetation management and more are planned to create a thriving wildlife corridor in the heart of the industrial estate.

The next volunteer event takes place tomorrow, when they will be doing wetland planting.

Helpers should meet on Fiennes Road.

Jim Wood from Caterpillar in Peterlee, who has been volunteering since the start of the project, said: “It’s great to see all of the hard work coming together since I first got involved with the design stage of the project.

“The work being delivered on the burn is going to make a huge difference to the local environment and we all need to pull together and do our bit to keep it clean and tidy.

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“We would therefore like to invite all local businesses to get involved and get in touch to find out more about how they can help, no long-term commitment required – just an hour or two of time will make all the difference.”

The Wear Rivers Trust has been working with the Coastal Streams Partnership, Environment Agency and Northumbrian Water to improve stream habitats and by working in partnership with businesses hope to secure long term management arrangements of the burn.

For more, contact Steve Hudson on 07880 189231.