Hayes Conference Centre Case Study video transcript

The conference centre itself is in Swanwick, which is near Alfreton. The Hayes is set over roughly 50 hectares. We've got an internal conference space, which is the bit that I manage, and then we're surrounded on all sides by basically what's lowland pasture, which we rent out to our tenant farmer.

I feel that the landscapes in which we operate are fantastic scope to provide for local biodiversity. The organisation oversees the management of many acres and is ever seeking to improve these areas for nature, to the benefit of nature and to that of our guests, who get to enjoy it.

Not only here at The Hayes, but across our three centres, there have been thousands of new trees planted, including many new hedgerows. And the way we manage our grassland has also changed in recent years, creating a varied range of lengths to sustain many different flora while still providing plenty of mown recreational areas for guests. These include hay meadows, arable wildflower meadows, and areas left uncut year-round. It is also important to me that new planting projects in the main gardens always include a wide range of pollinator-friendly plants.

We try not to be too tidy when it comes to clearing away deadwood and debris, focusing on key aesthetic areas only and making use of waste materials in different ways in other areas, such as brash piles, dead hedges, and composting. We also manage large wildlife ponds, bug hotels, and have an assortment of bird and bat boxes.

In addition to work done at The Hayes already, this winter we're hoping to start work, with help from the Derbyshire Heartwood Community and the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, to restore areas of farmland, including hedgerows and the creation of new wooded areas.

I feel that it is important for businesses to be part of the solution to biodiversity decline, simply because it's important to absolutely everyone, interested or otherwise. It should be the bare minimum that businesses do all they can to lessen their impact on biodiversity. Now, I personally believe they ought to go further.

It's so simple in this day and age to find wildlife groups and local people willing to help businesses have a positive impact, and usually at absolutely no cost. It's also a positive additional selling point, whatever your business may be.

I think we should all play our own small part, to do what we can to improve nature locally, and believe in the positive impact many small actions can have. But, I also think it can be a lot to ask time-poor and struggling families who have no connection to nature. While worth the encouragement, it's clearly a difficult sell.

I think the focus should be on local government and NGOs to improve the ease by which landowners can improve biodiversity on their land. Additionally, support to those managing smaller community groups could also be beneficial, helping them to grow their influence, making a real difference in their communities.

Hayes Conference Centre Case Study video

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