Quarry Life Award 2016
More than 450 project ideas to promote species diversity in quarries
March 1, 2016 was the application deadline for the international Quarry Life Award. Worldwide, 454 applications were received for HeidelbergCement’s research competition.
Pupils, students, young researchers, and conservation organisations from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania were asked to submit project ideas focusing on biodiversity protection and management in one of the 69 participating quarries of the Group.
Practical research started in April
National juries then had the difficult task of selecting the five most promising projects in each of the 19 competition areas (covering 22 countries). For those selected, the practical implementation phase started in April 2016. Until September, the project teams will perform their field work research, develop their ideas, and validate them. Nearly 100 projects across four continents will be rolled out like this. They all compete for a top position in their respective national as well as international contest.
“This competition is a fantastic opportunity for students and researchers to have a deeper look at quarries and to let their ideas promote biodiversity”, says Daniel Gauthier, Managing Board member of HeidelbergCement and member of the International Awards Jury. “The Quarry Life Award offers a unique chance to add true ecological and educational value to a quarry. For our company, it is another way to promote species diversity in our quarries and to further develop biodiversity management standards in cooperation with leading universities.”
Attractive prizes for the winners
For each national competition, the best ideas will be awarded with prizes of €1,500, € 3,000 and €5,000 in autumn 2016. At the same time, an international jury evaluates the projects in order to identify the winners of the international competition. This jury will award €10,000 to the best project in each category:
- Habitat & Species Research
- Biodiversity Management
- Education & Awareness Raising
- Beyond Quarry Borders
- Student Class Project
Finally, a Grand Prize of €30,000 will be granted to the best overall project at the international award ceremony that will take place in Brussels in December 2016. HeidelbergCement has launched the Quarry Life Award together with its national companies in 2012. The award aims at promoting biodiversity in quarries and raising awareness of the biological value of quarrying sites. The global competition is now in its third edition.
