Morgan Sindall launches biodiversity initiative with Wakefield canal project

Morgan Sindall Construction has undertaken its first project with Groundwork as part of its new partnership to support biodiversity in urban and rural environments.

It was announced earlier this year that Morgan Sindall and its supply chain was to work with Groundwork - a charity that mobilises practical action on poverty and the environment across the UK - on 14 projects that will benefit communities across England, Scotland, and Wales.

Groundwork is working with Morgan Sindall Construction teams and their supply chain partners to source proposals and manage the biodiversity outcomes. Each selected project will be backed with a grant of £10,000.

The first of these projects was delivered by Morgan Sindall’s Yorkshire team on Earth Day (April 22nd). as part of a programme of activities being held in Wakefield to celebrate the environment.

The project took place on the canal towpath of the Calder & Hebble Navigation opposite the contractor’s Rutland Mills office redevelopment site in the city.

The volunteering work was undertaken in partnership with the Canal and River Trust and the Wakefield Blue Green Urban network, led by Wakefield Council.

The team set out to build, line, fill and plant up four timber planters along a length of green space, adjoining the canal towpath. Once built the planters had to be lined before being filled with soil and compost and finished off by planting with insect-friendly plants.

This will not only enhance the appearance of the towpath but will help increase biodiversity by attracting insects and pollinators. Morgan Sindall’s volunteers and their colleagues from other organisations worked as a team to complete the tasks following instructions given by Groundwork staff to ensure the works were carried out safely and correctly.

Ben Hall, Area Director for Morgan Sindall in Yorkshire, said:

Groundwork is a great organisation. The scope of the work it does up and down the country is as significant in its creation of environmental awareness as it is in its social engagements and outreach. Morgan Sindall tries to reflect both qualities with any project we work on, and we are over the moon to begin working with this inspiring organisation.

The Yorkshire team are headquartered in Wakefield, so it's great to benefit a site of local importance with this project. We are looking forward to continuing our journey supporting Groundwork through several key projects in Yorkshire and the North East – and to seeing the positive social and environmental impact amongst the local community.”

Peter Murphy, Operations Director at Groundwork Yorkshire, said:

I’m delighted that this project on the Calder and Hebble Navigation towpath has come together so quickly with the help of volunteers from Morgan Sindall and our partners at the Canal and River Trust and Wakefield Council. I look forward to delivering a further phase of work in the autumn, working with this partnership, providing further biodiversity improvements along the Canal.”

ENDS