Bionet Award Winners 2024

Bionet Awards

The Bionet Awards aim to celebrate the work being undertaken by local people, communities, organisations and businesses in North East Wales to conserve, protect and enhance biodiversity.

Bionet believes it is important to celebrate successes achieved for biodiversity. In the face of the ecological emergency, a lot of the news we hear has a negative narrative but there are lots of people making a positive impact through local actions.

The awards were split into 8 categories to demonstrate how various actions can achieve a positive biodiversity impact within multiple different sectors.

We would like to say a huge congratulations to the following winners:

Winner: Holt Community Gardeners

Community Group Award

For our Community Group winners, we received some fantastic applications. The Community Group Award was presented to the Holt Community Gardeners!

The Holt community garden provides multiple food sources for invertebrates through the mindful planting of snowdrops and crocuses for early emerging pollinators, as well as scented stocks to attract night flying moths. They have developed two ‘no mow’ wildflower meadows along the riverside around the nearby car park – increasing native wildflowers and the invertebrate populations that depend on them, including the threatened clubtail dragonfly which is present in this area. As well as installing numerous bird boxes, bat boxes, hedgehog houses, and dead hedges to provide homes for wildlife throughout their village.

Congratulations on the award to all involved, we cannot wait to hear about all the future work planned.

Winner: Ysgol Esgob Morgan

Primary School Award

Bionet recognised the power of the students and teachers at our local schools and wanted to highlight the great work committed in our local educational institutions. Our Primary School Award goes to Ysgol Esgob Morgan.

Ysgol Esgob Morgan have carried out some fantastic work in their school, with pupils having planted over 900 trees and numerous hedgerows, creating wildlife corridors across their school grounds. They also restored a pond and adjacent wetland area by introducing native aquatic and semi-aquatic plants, creating habitat for birds, amphibians and invertebrates alike. As well as installing several Hedgehog houses!

Congratulations to Ysgol Esgob Morgan!

Winner: Enfinium - Parc Adfer

Business Award

Our business award was created to recognise the work dedicated in our private organisations across North-East Wales. We are delighted to award Enfinium – Parc Adfer with the Business Award.

Enfinium operate a waste processing plant at Parc Adfer on the Deeside industrial estate.

There are 6.5 hectares of green space surrounding the plant, which was mostly mown grass until Enfinium decided to enter into partnership with NWWT and Enfys Ecology in 2023 to manage the space for biodiversity. Now 2.5 hectares of grassland is being managed for biodiversity – 2 acres of which have been enhanced using the introduction of locally sourced seeds and wildflower plug plants from nearby SSSI’s and NWWT reserves. 1.5 acres of vegetation is left uncut annually to provide overwintering habitat for a wide range of species. 0.25 hectares of ponds/wetlands are managed for structural diversity and to create basking sites for invertebrates and reptile populations. As well as the creation of 800m2 of open mosaic habitat including numerous hibernacula, seasonally wet scrapes and diverse vegetation.

All of this work resulted in an increase of biodiversity by 25% in 2024 when assessed by an external ecological consultancy. What an impact!

Winner: Marchwiel Community council

Town and Community Council Award

We wanted to highlight the fantastic work committed by our local Communities and Town Councils and how they have improved the local spaces for all to enjoy. We are delighted to award the Bionet Town & Community Council Award to Marchwiel Community council.

In Marchwiel the community council worked closely with Wrexham county council to plant 2100 native broadleaved trees creating a community woodland in a previously unused green space! Volunteers and groups from the village, local primary school, and scouts group were organised by the community council, and there are plans to plant native woodland plug plants in this area in the coming years.

Congratulations to all involved in Marchwiel Community council on the fantastic work committed!

Winner: Alex Ruck

Volunteer Award

The Volunteer award was created to highlight the work and dedication by one individual to nature recovery and conservation. We are delighted to award the Bionet Volunteer award to Alex Ruck.

Alex has been a dedicated volunteer with Wild Ground at the Rhydymwyn Valley Nature Reserve for 3 years. In this time he has been involved in a range of biodiversity boosting activities such as:
• Regular Butterfly surveys
• Scrub control and the creation of habitat piles to boost the reptile population
• The management and clearing of pond vegetation such as rushes and typha from ponds for great crested newts
• Bracken crushing in bracken dominated areas to promote grassland species within the nature reserve.

This impressive dedication does not go unnoticed, and we want to thank and congratulate Alex on dedicating his time to help our fantastic wildlife.

Winner: Ysgol y Gogarth

High School Award

Our High School Award has been dedicated to the fantastic students and faculty at Ysgol Y Gogarth.

This year the school revitalised and expanded their garden area with new raised beds, which are being used to grow produce for the local community using environmentally friendly practices. They have also created a no mow wildflower bank, which already has 50 different wildflower species recorded! As well as planting an orchard on their school grounds. What a busy year!

Congratulations Ysgol Y Gogarth!

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Bionet Awards Winners 2024