UK site rehabilitation program builds a lasting legacy for future generations
Imerys’ UK operations in Cornwall have taken another significant step in advancing their site restoration program, with the goal of planting 150,000 trees across its former China clay quarry sites. In early March, they collaborated with a group of local primary school children, reinforcing community engagement and underscoring their commitment to land rehabilitation in partnership with the local community.
Restoring the land to its original state
Since 2021, Imerys’ teams have been focused on restoring exhausted clay pits near St Austell, in mid Cornwall, successfully replanting over 75 hectares. The restoration process involves the careful backfilling of quarries with tailings, the creation of a new soil layer, the hydroseeding of a mix of grass and wildflower seeds; as well as planting local species of tree. This sustainable approach has fostered a thriving ecosystem, now home to a diverse range of wildlife, including red deer, skylarks, ringed plover, honey bees and a rare species of dormice.
This past winter, the restoration program has focused on tree planting in the ‘Dubbers’ area, located next to the Littlejohns pit - Imerys' largest kaolin quarry and the world’s biggest working kaolin mine, which continues to export this valuable mineral for use in a diverse range of products such as toothpaste, paint, ceramics and cosmetics.
This expansive reforestation program is made possible through financial support from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the UK Forestry Commission.
Restoring historical mining land is an integral part of our work here in Cornwall. This land has been mined for kaolin for over 250 years. It is our responsibility to return it to a condition as close to its original state as possible, while providing as much access for the local community as possible. Through these efforts, we are creating a legacy that both honors Cornwall’s past whilst preparing the landscape for future generations to enjoy.
Community engagement at the core of the project
In March, local schoolchildren from the neighboring Whitemoor Primary Academy were invited to participate in the tree planting initiative. The group, aged 9-10, spent the day planting trees, learning about local ecology, and connecting with their environment. This hands-on experience serves both to educate the next generation and to foster a sense of ownership and responsibility for the local landscape.
Each child planted a selection of trees from native broadleaf species, such as sessile oak, wild cherry, sycamore, alder, silver birch and mixed conifer, which we know were growing here in the past. It is important that we plant trees which will thrive on this newly restored land, so as to provide a habitat for the local flora and fauna, as well as attracting new species as the woodland develops.
Bees and beyond!
Looking ahead, plans are in place to introduce beehives to the site - continuing the team’s ongoing collaboration with Bees Off which re-homes swarms that need to be relocated - as well as to expand restoration efforts to the adjacent Scarewater site, using the same techniques developed and refined on the Dubbers site.
As the saplings establish their roots, the promise of a greener, more vibrant Cornwall grows stronger - a testament to how industry and nature can work in harmony to create spaces that benefit both the environment and the local community.
Preserving biodiversity also means looking beyond our sites. When our impacts on nature cannot be totally avoided, reduced or restored, we move on to the ultimate stage: offset. This final phase of the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy aims to balance the scales by generating biodiversity gains outside our sites at least equivalent to the losses caused by our activities.
Discover how we implement offset measures through concrete examples of wetlands and habitat restoration in Sandersville, USA, and in Clérac, France.
From a volcanic island in Greece to a forest in Austria, we adapt to the unique local climatic conditions of each site with the same objective: to bring nature back by restoring our quarries.
When our impacts on nature cannot be completely avoided or minimized, the third step of the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy aims at repairing what extractive activities are altering.
In this third article of our biodiversity campaign, we move on to the second step of the mitigation hierarchy: Minimization. This step of the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy, focuses on reducing residual impacts throughout the lifecycle of our projects. By combining scientific expertise, local adaptation, and employee engagement, Imerys is actively working to minimize its impact on natural heritage. From protecting peregrine falcons in the United Kingdom (UK) to managing invasive species in Thailand, our teams around the world are taking actions to safeguard biodiversity.
To preserve natural heritage, it is essential to anticipate and limit impacts right from the project design phase. This involves rigorous analysis of the ecological context and the implementation of appropriate measures to minimize our footprint on ecosystems.
In the previous article, we presented our commitments, strategy, protocols and tools built with scientific experts and deployed across the Group to help protect biodiversity. For this second article, we talk about the first and crucial stage of the biodiversity mitigation hierarchy.