How training firm Petans has protected its resident wildlife

At Petans, we are very aware of the impact that our emergency response and safety training can have on the environment – and want to do what we can to provide balance.

Over the past 10 years, we have invested over £2.5 million in training resources that not only meet the standards and expectations of our clients but deliver in a way that supports the environment, or at the very least lessens the impact.

We have two firefighting modules on site, both made up of multiple units. One operates solely on gas with the other being dual burn. The modules are designed to support internal firefighting while reducing the emissions associated with burning carbon and liquid fuel for training purposes.

We also have a 25-metre swimming pool, various other firefighting props and a premises that can train 100 plus people a day. As a result, our business has extremely high operating costs and uses a lot of energy, so it is essential that where possible we use resources in a responsible and sustainable way.

To this end, we have recently invested in solar panels and a water treatment plant which enables us to recycle water for the purposes of firefighting.

Andie Marshall, business manager at Petans (Image: Petans)
In addition to investing in equipment to support our sustainability plans, we have a very open site where we have created grass seating areas, shaded areas with various species of trees and a wild area. These areas not only create a nice environment for staff and delegates, but they also attract a variety of wildlife.

When we have visitors, they are always surprised not only by the size of the site and our facilities but the green outdoor spaces that we have too.

Prior to the NDR (now Broadland Northway) being built, Petans was accessed through the village of Horsham St Faith, down Bullock Hill.

We were surrounded by fields, and not surprisingly we were awash with wildlife, from our annual visits from swallows and various species of bird to foxes and their young snoozing in our warm fire modules.

Our previous chairman also kept bees on the site for a while, and we used to have a fishpond.

We were worried that when the new road was built, and we effectively swapped our adjacent fields to a busy piece of dual carriageway, that we may lose some of our wildlife visitors. The new road opened in December 2017, and we need not have worried.

When we look at developing areas of our site, we always look to consider the environmental impact.

For as long as anyone can remember, we have looked forward to the swallows arriving from April onwards. Each year we seemed to get more, and we were worried that they would nest in the firefighting modules, so about six years ago we bought several swallow nests and put them up in various lean-tos on site to encourage them to make nests in safe places.

Petans has put swallow nests in various lean-tos to encourage them to nest in safe places (Image: Petans)
We noticed that we were having regular visits from an owl, so we bought owl boxes and placed them in some of the trees on site.

We have a pair of resident buzzards that nest in the tall trees near our driveway, and we see numerous small birds too, from migrating goldfinches that stay for a fortnight to wagtails and blue tits nesting and bringing up their young. We provide food and water for the birds, encouraging them to be regular visitors.

We have several green areas with picnic benches, so staff and delegates can take their breaks outside in the nice weather.

Having the opportunity to get some fresh air during the day and at the same time watch nature is beneficial for our mental health, and it is great that our busy site has this capability.

We always have an array of daffodils in spring, and in our wild area we unsuccessfully tried to plant wildflowers – something that we will attempt again next year.

For more information, visit petans.co.uk