MAY HIGHLIGHTS
We hope you have all had the opportunity to soak up and enjoy the British sun whilst it lasts. Although it has been fun pretending that the whole country has migrated to the Mediterranean, it is about time it rained for the good of our plants, waterways and farmers. This month has seen us back in the lab, back in some bins, and looking at how we can all take simple steps to make our outdoor spaces more bee and insect friendly. Read on to find out more!
BAKING CONCRETE
Testing new construction materials involves a lot of lab time to ensure they are both safe and effective. Habiba has been back in the lab not baking cakes, but samples of concrete instead!
SMALL STEPS
To celebrate World Bee Day, which was on the 20th of this month, we take a look at how we can all take simple steps to make our outdoor spaces more inviting for our bumbling pollinators.
WASTE AUDIT
To make the most of the sunny weather, we have been back bin dipping in a local care home to help reduce their costs and carbon emissions, as well as increase their recycling rates.
BACK IN THE LAB BAKING CONCRETE
Our Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Leeds Beckett University looks to divert healthcare waste from incineration and use it as a low-carbon construction material instead. With innovative new products, especially in construction, we need to ensure they are built to last and are safe for all. This involves numerous samples and even more tests on each one, measuring different elements of their durability. Lucky for us, Habiba loves donning on her lab coat and is more than happy to prepare over 500 samples. Habiba says:
‘I've been back in the lab this month, continuing my experimental work for our KTP project. Currently, I'm working on the second batch of concrete samples using the same mix design ratio, however this time I am varying the water-to-cement ratio. The objective is to study how different water cement ratios affect the properties of the concrete, such as workability, compressive strength, and durability. This batch will provide comparative data that can be analysed against the first set of samples to draw more conclusive insights and get the optimal mix design.’
SMALL STEPS TO HELPING THE BEES
With World Bee Day being observed and celebrated on the 20th of this month, we thought we would look at why bees are so important and how we can all make some small bee-friendly changes in our lives to help them flourish. Bees are vital pollinators, helping to grow the plants which turn into the food we eat. Unfortunately, the bee population is not what it used to be, and without them we would see a decline in biodiversity and crop health.
But we can all help bees grow back to the population they once were by introducing a range of plants, from nectar-rich flowers to fruit trees. Even if you do not have a garden or patio, you could hang a flower box from your window to help them, and watch them buzz about whilst you enjoy a brew. If you have a large garden, you can even offer some space to beekeepers. There could even be some honey in it for you!
CARE HOME WASTE AUDIT
We are working with a local care home group in Barrow in Furness to reduce the costs and carbon emissions associated with their resource use and waste, as well as to increase their rates of recycling.
Part of this project involves auditing their waste, using a back-to-front approach to track the flow of materials, and this is what we carried out over two days this month. With this data, we can then identify opportunities for sustainable change and design a strategy which targets those opportunities. Soon we will be able to share our findings and our next steps. Watch this space for project updates!
DOING OUR BIT
Travelling to and from the care home, we noticed a sign of one of our team’s namesake had fallen into disrepair. After noticing Rufus in visible distress, the team thought they would clean up the sign to put a smile back on his face.
The results were a great success! Look at the smile on that happy chappy.
If you have a sign sharing your name and it has gotten a bit grubby, give us call!
Written By Rufus Henderson