Specialists from leading public service provider Amey’s Utilities vegetation management team have prevented the destruction of a rare ant species’ nest in North Yorkshire.
The employees, who were working on behalf of Northern Powergrid (NPG), had spotted a rare ‘Hairy Wood Ant’ nest whilst working in Thornton-le-Dale in the North York Moor National Park.
The park is a major concentration of protected species and habitats in the UK. This includes rare and threatened plant and animal species – of which the Hairy Wood Ant is one.
Dean Malik, Environmental Lead for Amey Utilities, said: “Damage to the nest would have been a major setback in their numbers. Amey is committed to protecting the environments and communities it works in and we’re very pleased the team were able to successfully continue work and protect the nest.”
Ali Ross, lead arborist for the Amey NPG team, said: “We made sure we avoided stepping on any nests we were working close to that no branches fell on top of them as we pruned the trees above.”
No matter how small these creatures are, they are an integral part of the forest ecology. The forests are a man-made habitat but, once these species move in, they become a vital component in the life of the forest and should be valued as such.”
Amey provides a range of services for Northern Powergrid including upgrading the equipment in substations, through to refurbishing their overhead line network and delivering vegetation management services.