The IM Kelly Automotive branded raft will provide an important breeding habitat for the wonderful common tern who return each year from Southern Africa to breed at our Pitsford Water Nature Reserve.
No champagne bottles were used or harmed during the launch but members of staff from IM Kelly joined our Corporate Partnerships Manager Nathan Long, along with reserve staff to help with the launch.
Nathan, above right, expressed the thanks of the Wildlife Trust BCN saying, “We’re incredibly grateful to IM Kelly Automotive for sponsoring this raft, and to volunteer Jonathan Saunders whose idea it was to seek sponsorship; we're all looking forward to seeing how these charismatic birds enjoy their new nesting site.”
Tern rafts were first trialled at Pitsford Water in 2000 to help support this amber listed species from further decline. The first raft was immediately taken up and became home to a colony of breeding common terns that year. Since then, additional tern rafts have been added and the six rafts found in Scadwell Bay produce on average over 60 chicks each year.
The new sponsored raft was created by Green Future Buildings, a not for profit social enterprise, specialising in conservation products which are designed and built to withstand the harshest of weathers and conditions – a huge step forward from the historically used cheaper wooden ones that need continuous maintenance and eventual replacement.
Rafts such as this provide an important floating habitat and help breeding programmes by giving birds a safe space from disturbance, flooding and predation. These rafts are specifically designed with common terns in mind, using a layer of shingle to imitate their natural nesting habitat. However, they will also be used by other species found on our reserves, such as Black-headed gulls, who are also in decline.
This is just one of the many ways in which companies and organisations across Bedford, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire can work with us, helping support a range of essential conservation and community projects.
If you would like to find out more about becoming a corporate member or sponsoring a project, please contact the Corporate Partnerships team at Corporate@wildlifebcn.org.
Read more about the Common tern
