A Kent-based veterinary practice is celebrating after receiving national recognition for its environmental work and creating a beautiful wildlife garden for staff and clients to enjoy. Sandhole Veterinary Centre, in Snodland, has been awarded bronze accreditation by Investors in the Environment (iiE), a nationwide initiative which encourages firms to introduce cleaner, more sustainable and more environmentally-friendly ways of working.
Under the guidance of sustainability champion Sarah Foster, the team at Sandhole set about improving the immediate environment around the practice and chose a sterile grassed paddock previously used for dog training as the site of its new wildlife garden. The plan was to turn it into a more diverse area supporting insect life and plant life, with a view to supporting animals higher up the food chain.
Since this environmental work started in 2020, the team have transformed the area with a host of initiatives which have been recognised by iiE in its assessment.
Sarah said: “We’ve planted several trees which support the most wildlife, like oak, hazel and ash trees, which are native to the area. We’ve also given plenty of thought to pollinators and have planted holly, honeysuckle, ceanothus and buddleia.
“We’ve really seen the fruits of our labour over the last two years, with butterflies and bees on the increase. There is already lots of insect-friendly planting at the front of the practice so we can support a large number of pollinators.
“In addition to the new garden, a significant proportion of the paddock has been left to overgrow which has led to more rabbits, a stoat and at least one self-seeded oak tree sapling. We also have a plant compost heap and have started to install a pond.
“Interestingly, one new team member says she applied for the role partly as a result of the wildlife area as it chimed with her values.”
As well as its ongoing environmental work to improve the area for wildlife, staff also held a day of action to clean up the local area. Team members took it in turns to spend an hour picking up litter from the roads around the practice and filled nine bags of rubbish between them.
“Not only did this improve the area and reduce the hazard to wildlife, it was a positive and thought-provoking exercise for the team. We hope that some of the many drivers who passed us will think again before throwing litter into the verge,” added Sarah. “We have had lots of positive feedback and one client has even donated materials for the wildlife garden. We hope our project will inspire people to do more and support our initiatives.”
Sandhole Veterinary Centre is owned by Linnaeus and its highly-experienced team delivers gold-standard surgical and clinical expertise for pets. For more information, visit their website.
