Willmott Dixon and Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust celebrate partnership to create a 'wilder Nottinghamshire'

Dedicated to supporting charities and organisations in areas local to its regional offices, Willmott Dixon’s collaboration with the Nottinghamshire-based wildlife charity has helped to create a ‘wilder Nottinghamshire’. By engaging employees, customers and the wider local community through a programme of activities, the contractor has helped to enhance the local environment while also raising awareness on the importance of biodiversity within construction.

A standout activity within the partnership has been workshops on the government's biodiversity net gain (BNG) push, which requires developments to leave the natural environment in a better state than before work began. These sessions were delivered by the Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust subsidiary EMEC Ecology, and ensured Willmott Dixon’s teams were prepared ahead of the scheme’s implementation in February 2024. This proactive approach ensured the company was prepared to implement BNG principles, and reinforced its position as a leader in the sustainable future for construction.

Similarly, during the partnership, a workshop looking at the importance of biodiversity within construction projects was delivered to customers along with a webinar open to all local construction offices, customers and partners.

Simone Codrington, sustainability manager at Willmott Dixon, said: “We are passionate about creating a positive environmental legacy, and the partnership with Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust reflects our Now or Never strategy, and our aim to leave the environment in a better state than we found it. This has been an incredible opportunity to give back to the local Nottinghamshire community while expanding our understanding and appreciation of biodiversity within construction.

More than 42 hours of volunteering have been completed throughout the partnership, with employees joining a ‘Wild Work Day’. At Attenborough Nature Reserve the team learned about the history of the nature reserve and helped to clear an invasive plant species, Himalayan Balsam. This species spreads easily and outcompetes other native vegetation, threatening riverbanks and increasing the risk of flooding. Therefore, by helping to clear it, the native species’ could thrive. The team also had the opportunity to learn about green career paths during a talk from the Trust’s engagement and ranger team.

In addition to hands on work, Willmott Dixon donated £1,800 to the charity’s Wilder Lives program, which encourages local community groups to protect and enhance nature through the Wilder Nottinghamshire Network.

Emily Patrick, corporate partnerships and trusts manager at Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust said: “We’re incredibly grateful to Willmott Dixon for its generous donation to our Wilder Lives program and it’s been a pleasure to build this partnership over recent years.

“From the teams’ involvement in our ‘Wild Work Days’ to the company's wider network joining workshops with EMEC Ecology, the work we have done has all contributed to inspiring as many people as possible to take action for nature and wildlife and create a Wilder Nottinghamshire.

We value working with business of all kinds to create meaningful partnerships which supports wildlife and people to thrive together across Nottinghamshire.

Willmott Dixon’s Now or Never strategy focuses on creating ‘Brilliant Buildings’, ‘Building Lives’, and fostering a ‘Better Planet’ and the company aims to be a zero-carbon entity without any offsetting and to deliver environmental net gain on all projects by 2030.

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust is the county’s leading conservation charity and cares for various nature reserves, working to protect and enhance the wildlife habitats of the local area.