Biodiversity Garden at Capital Coated Steel
We thought it would be nice to produce this; the story of how we reclaimed a little part of industrial history and turned it into a tranquil place for staff and wildlife alike.
The building we purchased in 2015 has a long and interesting history that is easy to overlook. Some of you may know a little about our fascinating home, but laying it out in a timeline really does illustrate the most dramatic of journeys. This infographic represents a very brief and potted history of our Wattsville site from cottage industry origins in the 1670s, industrial revolution and large scale coal mining, a true human catastrophe in the mid 19th century, the eventual closure of the site in the 1920s followed by 50 years of coal spoil and dereliction to today; a modern steel processing plant powered by solar and now with its own little corner of reclaimed biodiversity.
This latter point has become very important to us. Biodiversity is (literally) a hot topic, given the rapid changes in climate and the additional pressures that are bearing on species big and small. Pre-coal mining, the Sirhowy valley would have been an area of outstanding natural beauty and as the 18th and 19th centuries progressed, the coal dust and smoke of industry removed vast swathes of greenery and all the life that goes with it. Now that South Wales coal mining resides largely in our collective memories, it is incredibly satisfying to take this small area of industrial heritage and restore life to where there was previously spoil. It is even more satisfying to also offer this space as a place of wellbeing for our staff to unwind.
We're enjoying our little part of this journey and with more plans in the pipeline, we'll be posting regularly to keep you up to date. Follow us via our website or LinkedIn to stay in touch with developments.
(With thanks to our team members for help with the history and relevant images).
To view the image please visit the below link or the Resources -> Other section on our website.
garden-timeline-lower-res.png (900×2250) (capitalcs.com)
