New life comes to the lime and gravel works
Gräfenberg, 19.04.2024
On 19 April 2024, the starting signal was officially given for further nature conservation measures at Wolfgang Endress Kalk- und Schotterwerk GmbH & Co. The company is participating in the "Natur auf Zeit" species conservation project and is thus committed to fulfilling a predefined action plan. The kick-off was marked by the signing of a cooperation agreement by the project initiators (LBV and BIV), the Forchheim District Office and the Endress management. During a joint tour of the quarry site, the new conservation areas were inspected together.
The nature conservation measures are contractually stipulated
"Quarries like the one owned by WOLFGANG ENDRESS are ideal as a substitute habitat for many amphibian species, as they are similar to natural habitats," explains Dr Oliver Thaßler, Head of the Upper Franconia District Office and the Lindenhof Environmental Information Centre and co-signatory of the cooperation agreement. "We are very pleased that the company has voluntarily committed to this nature conservation measure. Only through such commitment can 'Nature for a Time' be successful."
The project is aimed specifically at the raw materials extraction industry. The Gräfenberg-based company contractually promises to make unused extraction areas available as protected areas for the conservation of animal and plant species.
Johanna Neumeyer, Managing Director of WOLFGANG ENDRESS, is delighted about this new opportunity: "As a company that extracts regional raw materials and cannot work without interfering with nature, we see it as our responsibility to give something back to nature. We have found experienced partners in the LBV, BIV and the district administration, who support us with their great technical expertise. It's great that we can make a contribution to safeguarding biodiversity with this project."
What is "temporary nature"?
Reconciling the extraction of raw materials with the preservation of the habitat of amphibian populations is the aim of the "Natur auf Zeit" project. It originated in 2017 from a cooperation between the Landesbund für Vogel- und Naturschutz e.V. (LBV) and the Bayerischer Industrieverband Baustoffe, Steine und Erden e.V. (BIV). In 2023, "Natur auf Zeit" received the Bavarian State Foundation's Environmental Award.
