Ground Control wins BALI award for Community and Schools Development

Ground Control is proud to win a BALI (British Association of Landscape Industries) award for community and schools' development, on 2^nd December 2022.

The annual BALI ‘National Landscape Awards’ are the largest of their kind in Europe. Aimed at landscape designers and contractors, every construction and design project is visited personally by a judge and scrutinised individually. The Awards judging panel of acclaimed industry experts demands the highest level of professional excellence. They jointly deliberate each decision to ensure consensus that the winners really do represent the very best in landscape construction and design.

In 2022, Ground Control was recognised for inspiring schools and local communities into landscaping through a tree planting partnership with Severn Trent.

Ground Control was selected by Severn Trent, the ‘Official Nature and Carbon Neutral Supporter of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, to deliver the planting of ’72 Tiny Forests (Earthwatch)’ and 2022 Severn Trent Commonwealth Forests across the West Midlands.’ The forests were planted on land owned by Severn Trent that subsequently surrounded sites close to many of the Birmingham 2022 Games venues.

The project’s aims were to increase biodiversity and sequester carbon whilst engaging local communities and providing a platform for education.

A ‘Tiny Forest’ is a tennis-court-sized forest comprising native species and shrubs. With the support of volunteers, schools, and local communities, 72 ‘ tennis-court-sized’ forests were planted on Severn Trent land, each representing a Commonwealth nation competing at the Games and linked to a local school.

A Severn Trent Commonwealth Forest comprises 2022 acres of woodland planted across multiple sites in the West Midlands to support the carbon sequestration aims, and to plant a legacy that can be enjoyed by the community. A series of woodlands will develop over time, of a species suitable for the climate they are planted in to.

Pupils from local schools joined Ground Control for educational planting days to get ‘hands on’ experience with native species and to learn about the importance of biodiversity. This education should encourage and inspire positive action in future generations and support the aims of a legacy across the West Midlands.  Engagement of local communities in the planting was and continues to be essential in the long-term success of leaving a legacy.

Jason Knights, Managing Director of Ground Control said:

Dr Jodie Rettino, Severn Trent’s Catchment Management and Biodiversity Lead said::