Bakery creates a haven for pondlife on industrial estate
Anew haven for wildlife is taking shape in the middle of one of the UK’s biggest industrial estates.
The Village Bakery has spent £25,000 on creating two new ponds at the six-acre nature reserve at Erlas Black Wood.
The site is next door to the family firm’s two bakeries on Wrexham Industrial Estate and will become an amenity for staff and members of the public when it’s finished.
The broad-leaf woodland dates back to the 17th century and includes native species like oak, ash and willow. Tawny owls are known to nest there and it is an important habitat for greater crested newts.
The Village Bakery has been working with the North Wales Wildlife Trust and environmental specialists Enfys Ecology to create and manage the habitat for the newts.
Projects director Christien Jones said: “We’ve created two new ponds to add to one that was there already. They’re substantial ponds but they’ve been designed by Enfys Ecology to have certain depths, to have some newt habitat.
“The habitats come in various forms, from piles of logs, decaying logs, to piles of used brick.
“The newts like long grass and undisturbed, felled trees so we’ve cleared a few trees and mulched some others, while some we’ve left as stacks of logs.
“Our ultimate aim is to open the area up to our staff and members of the public as an area where people can go for a relaxing walk.
“There are thousands of people working on the estate and I am sure they would welcome somewhere to go during their lunch break instead of doing a circuit around the main road.”
The nature reserve project is part of the company’s Village Green campaign to make the family-run business as environmentally sustainable as possible.
Earlier this year the Village Bakery planted the verges and grassed areas around its two bakeries with wildflower seeds.
According to the company, the newly-sown wildflowers in the verges will create the idea habitat for endangered grizzled skipper butterflies.
The numbers of the butterfly, which has a distinctive chequered black and white pattern on its wings, have halved in Britain over the past 40 years.
In addition, the company has created a spectacular four-storey “living wall” of evergreen plants at its new Baking Academy and Innovation Centre, which was officially opened by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.
The building’s groundbreaking design includes other green features including rainwater harvesting and insulation and building panels made of recycled material.
The living wall – believed to be the biggest of its type in Wales – has been planted with hundred of plants which change colour as the seasons come and go.
Mr Jones added: “Business has a responsibility to the environment to do our duty and set something aside for these purposes, because otherwise the whole area will be covered in concrete.
“We feel it is really important that we invest in the future of the planet and our nature reserve project makes a real statement about our commitment to the environment.”