The long term nature of planning and operating our quarry operations must clearly be reflected in our long term approach to sustainability and managing the environment around the quarry for greater benefit. 

In 2015, quarry manager Seamus Gillespie and his team at Les Vardes Quarry, won the annual Insurance Corporation Conservation Award for work encouraging breeding peregrine falcons into the quarry. The team decided to use this small cash prize to “seed fund” the creation of a nature walk through the woodland and open meadows around the periphery of the quarry for the benefit of the community. Over time the Ronez team enhanced the trail with educational information boards at rest stops at points of interest with exceptional views across our site and the wider vista. The Company are now delighted to welcome the public freely to its land to enjoy the trail as well as hosting regular school visits. 

However, not being content to stop after this success, Seamus has continued to enhance the facility and open more of our land for public recreation through the construction of a mountain bike trail around the quarry. The engagement with the mountain bike community has continued to expand, and the quarry now hosts the annual Guernsey “Mountain Bike Mayhem”, which is a firm fixture on the island’s cycling calendar. 

The trail now also displays a number of chain saw carvings of figures from children’s books, which were placed in partnership with the Lions Club and has proven so successful that more locations are being developed on the Island. The whole project has provided tremendous improvements for the Environment, whilst also opening public access and giving educational and all manor of potential benefits for the community. 

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