Above: Station adopters, Heather Babb and Trevor Lond, receive their accreditation. Credit: Greater Anglia Diss rail station has received a ‘Wildlife Friendly’ accreditation recognising the work of community volunteers to improve biodiversity and support nature there. Greater Anglia has partnered with the Norfolk Wildlife Trust to formally recognise the achievements of its team of volunteer ‘station adopters’ to create wildlife havens at stations across its network through the new ‘Greater Anglia Wildlife Friendly Stations Accreditation Scheme.’ Diss station adopters, Heather Babb, Katie Brame, Nikki Young and Peter Harrison received the award following assessment by a Norfolk Wildlife Trust Conservation Officer to determine how well the station supports local flora and fauna. They have created a garden area on platform 2 with nectar-rich planting to help support pollinating insects, complete with an insect hotel. The ecologist’s report stated that although Diss is an “urban station, surrounded by housing and industrial estates, it sits in a good location for providing some habitat connectivity for wildlife through the town.” James Hogg, Development Officer at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, said: “The alarming decline in the abundance of wildlife and the plight of species under threat means that just protecting the nature we have left is not enough; we need to put nature into recovery, and to do so at scale and with urgency. “This project with Greater Anglia is a fantastic example of how people can transform nature-poor areas into new nature-rich places – and change the way we think about land, seizing opportunities to help nature outside traditional nature reserves.” Each assessment also offers tips and advice for how to make the stations more wildlife friendly and the reports can also be used as examples of best practice to help spread good ideas around all Greater Anglia’s stations. Greater Anglia’s Customer and Community Engagement Manager, Alan Neville, said, “We’re delighted to partner with the region’s wildlife trusts to formally recognise the valuable work of our station adopter volunteers in supporting wildlife and improving their local environment.” “I’d like to congratulate the volunteers at Diss station on receiving this recognition and thank them for the incredible work that are doing that is help to support biodiversity locally.” Rail stations in East Anglia are increasingly becoming havens for local wildlife thanks to the efforts of over 300 volunteers who last year transformed over 7,400 square metres of land into thriving wildlife gardens. In a recent survey, Greater Anglia station adopters reported a wide range of creatures visiting their stations including many different types of butterflies as well as bees, slow worms, bats, foxes, toads, lizards, deer and many varieties of birds, recording more than 200 different species. Greater Anglia has joined the rest of the rail industry in pledging to make stations across Britain more sustainable. Action to reduce waste, support local wildlife and cut the carbon footprint of railway stations will be informed by the industry’s Sustainable Stations: Best Practice Guide, which details ways in which train operators can meet this commitment in support of global goals of decarbonisation, reducing waste and supporting local plant and animal life. Image provided by Greater Anglia
