This week, our Operations Team made a trip to one of our developments in Cheltenham, joined by Kaitlyn from our charity partner, Buglife, to undertake some FIT Count training.
Kaitlyn provided us with an update on the fantastic work that Buglife is doing to help our pollinator population and provided us with information on how to identify pollinators and different species. We then spent some time in the species-rich grassland and wildflower completing FIT Counts. We compiled some great data, and saw plenty of bees, butterflies, flies, grasshoppers, and more!
The FIT Count is designed to collect data on the number of flower-visiting insects within an area, and they are really easy to do! You can complete the count in your garden, or take a wander into the open space on your development and sit down for 10 minutes counting the insects. Here is the recording form we used, from Buglife. Alternatively, you can use their mobile app.
Meadfleet has been a corporate sponsor of Buglife for over three years now, and we are proud to support such an important charity in the substantial work they do for our insects and pollinators. A huge thank you to Buglife and Kaitlyn for organising such an informative day out!
About Meadfleet
Meadfleet is an award-winning, carbon neutral, management company founded over 25 years ago. Responsible for over 350 developments throughout England and Wales, we take a sustainable approach to open space management. Our Ecology and Conservation team ensure areas are managed to encourage biodiversity and we are partnered with leading insect charity Buglife, to help make the open spaces we care for more pollinator friendly. In 2021 we were awarded first place in the Pollinator category at CIRIA’s BIG Biodiversity Challenge Awards for their Bee Friendly campaign.
Appointed by housebuilders and local authorities and with a portfolio of more than 350 developments, all with a variety of requirements that include full infrastructure, complex sustainable urban drainage systems, biodiverse species habitat, street lighting, grass care, shrubbery, woodlands, wildflower meadows and play equipment, Meadfleet are the professional and sustainable solution to open space management.
Established in 1995, we are specialists in residential open space management and our aim is to protect and enhance these areas long into the future. We are committed to providing an excellent service and continually improving our environmental credentials, demonstrated by certification in BS EN ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management and BS EN ISO 14001:2015 Environmental Management.
We are delighted to be a Carbon Neutral Company, the first in our sector to achieve this. As one of the most experienced and trusted open space management companies in the UK, we take our role seriously. We believe taking climate action is important for companies like Meadfleet and the housebuilders and local authorities we work with.
We’ve signed up to the United Nations (UN) Climate Neutral Now initiative, launched in 2015 to increase climate action. We have pledged to measure, reduce and offset our carbon emissions with carbon credits every year. What’s more, we’ve also chosen to obtain carbon offsetting credits, equivalent to more than our estimated total emissions since Meadfleet first began in 1995.
Meadfleet employ experienced regional managers to proactively manage open spaces and respond to customer queries. As voluntary members of The Property Ombudsman Scheme, we offer our customers access to free, independent redress should this be required.
At Meadfleet we’re passionate about keeping open spaces safe and attractive and also believe it’s important to manage and enhance areas for the benefit of wildlife. We run regular customer initiatives such as giveaways of wildlife friendly seeds, bee hotels and bird nesting boxes. Our Bee Friendly campaign was awarded top prize in the pollinator category at CIRIA’s Big Biodiversity Challenge awards.
Meadfleet’s in-house Ecology and Conservation Team is at the centre of our business culture, leading our approach to open space maintenance. With experience in creating and managing a wide variety of habitats we ensure areas are maintained sensitively and appropriately and oversee continual biodiversity improvements. We understand the additional requirements of Biodiversity Net Gain, both in relation to planning and the 30-year covenant. Meadfleet are uniquely placed in the market to provide the management and maintenance skills required to ensure delivery of the ongoing requirements of biodiversity net gain on residential schemes in perpetuity.
We know that a good quality, natural environment will enhance a local neighbourhood, improve well-being and contribute to improved house values