Czech team wins Quarry Life Award 2018
On 5 December 2018, HeidelbergCement honoured the seven winners of the International Quarry Life Award in Brussels.
The Grand Prize was awarded to a Czech project, which provided scientific evidence about the importance of quarries (active and reclaimed) as a lifeline for declining populations of bees.
During the fourth edition, HeidelbergCement’s biodiversity competition engaged hundreds of students, researchers and NGOs in the protection of natural wildlife at quarrying sites.
“The Quarry Life Award not only enables students, researchers and NGOs to engage in exceptional hands-on research but also helps HeidelbergCement to further improve our biodiversity management, and to strengthen our bonds to scientific research, local communities and nature conservation in general”, emphasized Managing Board Member Dr. Albert Scheuer in his opening speech of the International Quarry Life Award Ceremony.
Nature as the biggest winner
It was the fourth edition of this research competition designed to increase awareness of the high biological value of our quarrying sites and finding new ways to further enhance it. This year, over 100 project groups from 25 countries competed in different categories following the motto “Nature will be the biggest winner”. The projects provided a great variety of new insights into biodiversity in quarries and its management.
The winners of the Quarry Life Award 2018
Grand Prize (€30,000):
Project: “Can quarries offer sufficient food resources for bees?”, Czech Republic
International prizes (€10,000 per category):
Category “Biodiversity Management”
Project: “Design of optimal roosting boxes for micro bats”, Canada
Category “Habitat & Species Research”
Project: “Evaluating the success of different restoration methods”, Italy
Category “Beyond Quarry Borders”
Project: “Restoration and optimisation of the functionality of a secondary channel”, France
Category “‘Biodiversity & Education”
Project: “Wooden boxes as display cabinets - showing the different species which can be found in quarries”, Spain
Category “Student Class Project”
Project: “Increasing the biodiversity value of a quarry through vertical and horizontal planting”, Turkey
Category “Connecting Quarries & Communities”
Project: “Biodiversity trail in a former quarry”, United Kingdom
