All parts of Severn Trent aim to positively contribute to the
communities in which we operate. We do this through our community work, community investment and education
programmes.
We understand that our daily activities, particularly at our larger operational sites, can have a major impact on local residents, the environment and the local economy. We aim to be a good neighbour, and involve communities in our plans wherever possible. We have established long-term community liaison groups at some sites. It is also customary for Severn Trent Water to hold roadshows, open days or public exhibitions to give the local community an opportunity to comment on significant proposed work and investments before they get underway.
We want as many people as possible to enjoy the leisure opportunities our reservoirs, visitor centres and wildlife habitats offer. Severn Trent Water makes its land or facilities available for community use, wherever possible, and a variety of community and charity events take place at different sites.
Severn Trent Water's visitor sites are an important resource for local communities, providing public access to some beautiful locations. They are also very popular - for example, Foremark reservoir attracts over 320,000 visitors a year.
Volunteer rangers who are members of the public play an important role at many of Severn Trent Water's reservoirs, carrying out conservation tasks, maintenance work, wildlife surveys, and biodiversity projects. The underlying aim of all their work is to improve our sites for the benefit of wildlife and visitors. In Leicestershire and South Derbyshire, a team of around 30 active volunteers are based over seven different Severn Trent Water sites. From July 2005 to September 2006 the team completed 68 task days across six sites - all entirely voluntary. Some regularly travel over 20 miles to help maintain our sites, and at least ten volunteers in 2006 contributed more than 100 hours of work.
The work all volunteers do is extremely important - not just to Severn Trent, but to local communities and the wildlife on the sites. Projects in 2006 included hedge-laying at Staunton Harold; path restoration at Thornton; reed bed maintenance at Cropston; and barn owl, sand martin, bat and tree sparrow projects at Foremark. In 2006 Severn Trent Water set up a new Wildlife Group of volunteer naturalists at Foremark who have an excellent knowledge of the wildlife on site. Their aim is to compile and collate full species lists and records for the site, to monitor species populations, and suggest actions that could be carried out by the existing conservation volunteer team in order to promote biodiversity. The Group recorded over 122 bird species at Foremark in 2006, and 26 butterfly species. They are also working on compiling species lists and records for moths, dragonflies and mammals. All their work will aid the future management of the site, and we are extremely grateful for their contribution.
The hard work of Severn Trent's full-time rangers and conservation and wildlife volunteers helped the site win the Conservation category in the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Business Challenge 2006. The Challenge is a celebration of environmental initiatives by businesses throughout the UK, in the categories of Conservation, Community and Birds, and is held every two years. Severn Trent also won the Conservation category in the previous challenge, in 2004.
