By William Coleman
We all love the UK and all its wildlife and creatures. As tourers we are all responsible for looking after the environment to ensure we protect all the animals and insects we come across. Derbyshire’s Mercia Marina is taking the initiative and has won praise from David Bellamy for giving the wildlife the same VIP treatment as its visitors.
The marina, which prides itself on providing luxury holiday lodges for sales and rent, has now been given the top award, the David Bellamy Conservation Award, for the seventh year in succession. On top of that there was an extra honour for Mercia when Professor Bellamy declared it a “Honey Bee Friendly”. This is all part of the new initiative to help protect the critters as they are now becoming a threatened species, which would be extremely destructive to the environment if we lose the honey bee.
Professor Bellamy had special praise for the sites wildflower hedgerows where high nectar bearing blooms are providing lots of valuable pollen foraging for the honey bees as well as a plethora of other creatures like butterflies.
A lot of companies are now fully committed to becoming green and furthering their efforts to keep environments and wildlife protected. The marina continued commitment to running their business based on forward looking sustainability policies makes it a stand out for green efforts, says David Bellamy.
“Winning seven golds in as many years is a fantastic achievement for Mercia Marina,” he said.
“The whole team deserves a big pat on the back for all their wonderful and imaginative initiatives to protect the natural environment.
“Well done to you all, and keep up the good work!” David Bellamy declared.
Robert Neff, general manager of Mercia Marina, said everyone was thrilled that the marina had once again received the ultimate gold award:
“We are delighted that the hard work of our staff and volunteers has been recognised once more by Professor David Bellamy, and we would like to thank them for their fantastic efforts.
“Mercia Marina is committed to improving habitats and encouraging wildlife to thrive across the grounds, and this is just one of the reasons that we attract so many visitors,” said Robert.
The inland marina, near the Derbyshire village of Willington, is a major regional tourist attraction which draws more than 800,000 visitors a year.
Work is currently being carried out to develop a new three and four-storey £3m piazza building at the marina which is scheduled for completion in December.
You really cannot put enough effort into protecting nature. It is fantastic to see so many companies and organisations putting so much more in to make sure we keep our country, and ultimately the planet, clean and green.
