Viridor has renewed its partnership with the Somerset Wildlife Trust to support their urban wildlife project, The Routes to the River Tone, to bring people closer to wildlife in Taunton. The partnership, now entering its second year, will hold a programme of activities engaging Viridor employees and the communities of Taunton, focused on opening up green spaces and unearthing the hidden history of the town.

As part of Viridor’s commitment to support the communities in which it works, teams across the country have committed to the target of volunteering 1500 hours nationwide by 2017 to support community projects.  Helping Taunton to recycle, Viridor operates a series of facilities in the town including a restored landfill site in Priorswood, which is currently a maturing meadowland.

Coming soon to Taunton will be three ‘Viridor Wild Walks’ these run past Viridor’s core sites in Priorswood, Blackbrook and Youngman Place, adding to the town trails aimed at enabling people to explore parts of natural Taunton that they might not have considered. Walkers will be able to download exclusive content and ‘spotter cards’, to guide them through the area and highlight what can be seen.

Rebecca Pow, Member of Parliament for Taunton said: “Opening up the green spaces of Taunton is fantastic news for everyone living here. Every year thousands of people enjoy our parks, river walks and countryside. The Somerset Wildlife Trust is bringing local businesses together in partnership to continue this work which is bringing nature right on to our doorstep and helping people to engage with the wonderful wildlife around them.”

Inder Poonaji, Director of Sustainability for Viridor said: “With Viridor being based in Taunton it is essential that we are supporting the health and wellbeing of our teams working in the town, and also the wider community. Last year we helped Somerset Wildlife Trust to maintain the banks of the River Tone outside our Head Office; this offered essential maintenance, but also helped to develop skills within our teams too. We look forward to achieving more great things over the coming months.”

Simon Nash, Chief Executive of the Somerset Wildlife Trust:

“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Viridor for another year. Through their support we will be able to share more of the wonderful wildlife that can be found in Taunton and particularly around the River Tone.  Somerset WiIdlife Trust is committed to engaging people across the county with its very special wildlife, whether they live in towns or the countryside, and the Viridor Wild Walks will help us to inspire more people to explore the incredible wildlife here in Taunton.”

For more information about how to get involved with the Somerset Wildlife Trust or the walking routes in Taunton please visit: www.somersetwildlife.org