On Thursday 21 June, Raymond Brown held an open afternoon at Brickworth Quarry to provide the local community with an opportunity to have a tour of the site, chat to employees and enjoy a community afternoon.

The open event ran from 3.30pm – 6.30pm and saw over 60 visitors enjoying the sunshine at the quarry as they tucked into freshly made pizzas from a wood fired pizza oven and refreshments.  In the morning, the site welcomed 25 schoolchildren from nearby Whiteparish Primary School, who were invited on a school trip to have a tour of the site and learn about the industry.  This educational visit forms part of our Community Matters Initiative which sees us providing and supporting industry learning opportunities within the communities in which we work.

The event welcomed families and all children were gifted with a mini hi-vis vest and goody bags.  Children were also able to create their own sand creatures to take home and were provided with activities to complete, such as Biodiversity Bingo.  Congratulations to our two Biodiversity Bingo winners, Emily and Alex who received a £15 book voucher each.  Visitors were given guided tours by employees who are experts in the quarry, its history and nature conservation.

The event was free of charge to all visitors but through donations on the day, £50 was raised for the Whiteparish Memorial Trust.

Industry trade association, the Mineral Products Association (MPA) also attended, discussing with visitors the importance of sustainable development, biodiversity environmental protection and safety in and around quarries.

Steve Clasby, Chief Operating Officer commented: “We have an award winning site and it was a pleasure to be able to open it up to the local community and showcase our biodiversity and restoration.  Judging by the feedback received, the event was hugely successful and provided guests with an opportunity to engage with our employees as well as providing them with an insight into our operations at Brickworth Quarry.”

Photos from the day can be found by clicking here.

Raymond Brown invited schoolchildren from local Whiteparish Primary School to visit Brickworth Quarry.

Upon arrival, the students, who are all in the Year 6 Eagles class, were provided with appropriate personal protective equipment and a worksheet to complete during their visit.  The class were then given a tour around the quarry and the chance to see how the sand is extracted and processed through a screening and wash plant and then loaded onto lorries and distributed for use in the construction industry.  The children were also given the opportunity to have an up close look at the ancient woodland soils and learn about the site’s management and conservation of them as well as identifying different animal footprints on site.

Raymond Brown staff explained why quarries are needed, the uses of sand in construction and the environmental benefits of quarrying.  Students also learned about the dangers of entering a quarry unauthorised and the importance of safety on site.

Following the site tour and a classroom lesson, activities were undertaken outside and the children took turns at sieving different sands from three of Raymond Brown’s quarries and filling up miniature sand shape bottles which they took home with them.

To emphasise how the quarry provides environmental benefits to help biodiversity flourish, in creating habitats for numerous wild animals and birds, the children also created colourful bird feeders and planted cress seeds to take with them.

Martin Wooldridge, Quarry Manager commented: “It was a pleasure hosting the Whiteparish Primary School Eagles Class, they were enthusiastic and asked lots of questions about the quarry.  It was great to give them an insight into the quarrying industry and we really enjoyed having them on site.”

Whiteparish Primary School Head Teacher, Kate Heathcote commented: “On Thursday, the Eagles visited Brickworth Quarry and had a great trip! Huge thanks to all at Brickworth for making this a memorable trip for the eagles and for providing mini-buses!”

Quotes from the Eagles Class:

“We all enjoyed the experience; the best bit for me was making the bird feeders.” – Grace

“Our experience at Brickworth Quarry was fascinating because we learnt a lot about the quarry and stones.” – Megan

“My favourite part was sieving the sand and also the tour around as I had never seen a quarry before.” – Abbie

“‘It was really interesting finding out how big quarries are and how important they are.” – Joe

Jason Lester, Raymond Brown Waste Solutions HSQE Advisor has been announced as a finalist for the Safety and Health Practitioner (SHP) 2018’s Biggest Impact Award.

The awards are an annual event to celebrate individuals who have demonstrate excellence in their roles.  This category was open to anyone based in the UK and has recently (within the last 18 months) moved to the health and safety profession from another industry.  A long list of nominees were received and a panel of industry experts selected Jason as one of six finalists.

Jason moved into a health, safety and environmental Advisor’s role in September 2017, previously he managing the Chilton Recycling Facility. In this time he has re-written the Health & Safety and Environmental Manuals and management systems and passed his NEBOSH National General Certificate qualification. He has completed the ROSPA health and safety nomination and gained a 2018 gold award for the company.

For more information, please visit the SHP website: https://www.shponline.co.uk/finalists-announced-for-shp-biggest-impact-award-2018/

Raymond Brown Waste Solutions is pleased to announce the appointment of Iain McLean as Commercial Manager.

Iain has a strong market awareness and a firm understanding of the waste industry having worked for both Suez and Eco Food Recycling.

Adam Murnieks, Managing Director commented: “We are delighted to have appointed Iain who is a highly capable Sales and Business Development professional with a strong commercial awareness and people leadership skills.  He enjoys working with both existing and future customers to improve the overall customer experience and growing the business from inside out.”

We are delighted to announce that the Raymond Brown group of companies have been granted a prestigious award in recognition of our practices and achievements in safety.

Raymond Brown have achieved a Gold Medal (our nine consecutive Gold) in the internationally-renowned RoSPA Health and Safety Awards, the longest-running industry awards scheme in the UK.  We will be presented with the award during a ceremony at Hilton Birmingham Metropole hotel on Wednesday 4 July 2018.

The RoSPA Awards scheme, which receives entries from organisations around the world, recognises achievement in health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.

Julia Small, RoSPA’s head of qualifications, awards and events, said: “The RoSPA Awards are the most highly-respected in the health and safety arena, with almost 2,000 entrants every year, and allow organisations to prove excellence in the workplace, demonstrating a commitment to the wellbeing of not only employees but all those who interact with it.”