Despite still having to keep to corporate legislation, BASF Alfreton have taken the opportunity to see the green spaces around them that deserve to grow and attract wildlife. It all started with BASF Alfreton thinking about becoming more sustainable and so they got in touch with us here at Derbyshire Wildlife Trust to get advice on what they could do to improve the environment around their site.

BASF Alfreton have noticed that having green spaces around their site has had a great impact on the wellbeing of staff members. They now have spaces outside with seating areas amongst the wildflowers and staff are interacting with the wildlife that they see on their lunchbreaks.

The main meadow at the back car park had been left to grow, with minimal intervention. What was once a patch of short mown grass is now a sweeping meadow of long grasses, daisies, birds-foot-trefoil and many more. Orchids including the bee orchid and marsh orchid have been springing up amongst the meadow, but plenty of butterflies and day flying moths have become the main attraction. It wasn’t long ago when the dingy skipper, an increasingly rare species of butterfly, started to show up around BASF’s meadow which gathered a lot of attention.

Diane Rodger, Executive Assistant to Site Manager, has been carrying out butterfly transects around the site and has recorded many butterflies and moths since the rewilding project has taken place. Derbyshire Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers have planted new trees around the meadow to begin a hedge, logs have been stacked to create a minibeast habitat and swift, bird and bat boxes have been installed upon the buildings and trees.

It doesn’t stop at the meadow, the banks surrounding the site have been left to grow wild, creating more habitat for wildlife. Raised beds have been installed, creating a bee friendly site and sections around the front of the site show displays of wildflowers for the public to see as they drive or walk past.

33 flora examples, 12 bird, 4 mammal, 4 bumblebee, 18 butterfly and 7 moth species have been recorded on site.

The next plans for the site involve working on the pond in the meadow, BASF have been working with schools, facilitating their outdoor green space and hoping to inspire young people about the different types of work in the wider scientific area.

“Working with BASF over the last 5 years has been fantastic. The amount they have done to improve their site for wildlife has led to it becoming a stronghold for the Dingy Skipper one of Derbyshire’s rarest butterflies. They are an example to other companies on how the change in management can lead to nature’s recovery even on an industrial site, from agreeing to having slightly scruffier grass areas to doing wildlife surveys in lunch breaks and not cutting hedges until after the bird nesting season. BASF always want to do the next thing for wildlife and are constantly asking what more they can do, coming up with new ideas and suggestions.” - Dave Savage, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust Regional Manager for Dark and White Peak.

It’s refreshing to see wildness appearing in unlikely places. BASF have shown that from a corporate side, rewilding is doable on an industrial site by getting in touch with the right contacts (local Wildlife Trust for example) and sharing the enthusiasm to get involved and make a change to the environment.