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Investec Bank staff in Jersey have been helping create a wildlife corridor for species of small animals, including birds, mammals and reptiles in one of the Island’s most important natural habitats.
As part of a three year partnership with Jersey Trees for Life, staff from the bank will help plant and maintain hedgerows in an area of land close to St Ouen’s Pond.
The objective is to create a safe habitat for small birds, mammals and amphibians, providing them with an element of protection from predators and also a feeding ground to help maintain their species. Small songbirds in particular are vulnerable from predators such as sparrow hawks, merlin and hobby. Marsh harriers have also returned to the area in large numbers following a decline during the 1970s.
The hedgerow project will create a wildlife “corridor” that will enable small creatures such as shrews, bank voles, wood mice, green lizards, slow worms and toads to hide from these predators. The small song birds flock to the area in winter to feed on the conservation crops that have been planted by farmers to encourage wildlife in the area, as part of the Birds on the Edge campaign to restore and conserve Jersey’s coastal areas and encourage the return of bird species no longer seen in the Island.
14 members of Investec staff will spend two working days in every year of the three year programme working on the land alongside skilled land management teams from Jersey Trees for Life. The first group completed their work at the end of June, learning to use traditional tools and methods to clear the overgrown 200m hedge that was planted last winter and help them to establish so they will eventually create the wildlife corridor.
Kevin Allen, Head of Investec Bank (Channel Islands) Limited in Jersey said, “We believe that to be a responsible business we can, and must have a positive impact on the success and well-being of our local communities and the environment. The staff involved in this project are all volunteers and will not only be making a valuable contribution to the work of Jersey Trees for Life, they will learn more about themselves, and team working and they will bring these new skills back into the workplace.”
Conrad Evans of Jersey Trees for Life added, “We are pleased to have been chosen as a partner by Investec for the next three years. It means that they will be able to see the fruits of their labour develop. They did a marvellous job clearing around the hedgerow comprising over 600 plants. We look forward to working with them in the winter, planting another length of corridor that will further assist the song birds and many other animals.”
