Quarry Life Award: Heidelberg Materials launches the 6th edition of its competition promoting the preservation of nature

In France, the cement and aggregates activities of Heidelberg Materials are taking part in this new edition of the competition, with the support of the French Committee of the IUCN.[1], on eight sites: the quarries of the cement works of Bussac-Forêt (Charente-Maritime), Couvrot (Marne) and Ranville (Calvados) as well as the aggregate quarries of Arancou (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), Baccon (Loiret), Le Hourdel (Somme), Les Alleuds (Maine-et-Loire) and Pont-à-Mousson – Le Domaine (Meurthe-et-Moselle).

Proposals, submitted individually or by teams, must be built around a research axis or a societal initiatives axis. Students, researchers, citizens who are passionate and committed to the preservation of nature are invited to submit an action project within one of the participating quarries, by November 18, 2024, on the dedicated website.

In December 2024, the Quarry Life Award national jury will select a maximum of 6 projects (3 per category) which must then be implemented between January and September 2025. All will compete simultaneously at the national and international levels. At the end of the research period, participants will submit a "final project report" written in French and English by September 15, 2025.

2 axes covering 3 themes respectively

The Research axis focuses on scientific projects enabling the increase of ecological knowledge at the career level and/or aiming at improving the management of biodiversity, landscape and water on site.

Three categories are proposed :

• Biodiversity management
• Habitat and species research
• At the gates of the quarry

The jury's evaluation criteria for this research area will include methodology, feasibility of the project, innovation and creativity, communication of results and added value for science and for business.

The axis dedicated to Societal Initiatives concerns engagement and awareness projects which help the quarry to achieve greater proximity with its stakeholders.

Three categories also coexist:

• Biodiversity and Education/Teaching
• Interconnection of careers and local communities
• Nature-based solutions

The educational value and awareness-raising potential, the participation of local stakeholders, the added value for the community and the extraction site as well as the feasibility of the project will be the preferred evaluation criteria here.

The best international project will receive €30.000

In the fall of 2025, each national jury will reward the six projects admitted to compete. The main new feature this year is that each project will be rewarded. The first two in each category will receive a grant of 4.000 euros, the second will receive a grant of 2.000 euros each and the third in each category, 1.000 euros. At the same time, all participating projects will benefit from an individual evaluation by an international jury and will therefore be in competition for the "international" prizes. The best projects in each of the six categories will receive a prize of €10.000 and the best international project €30.000.

As a reminder, during the previous edition, the international grand prize of the Quarry Life Award (30.000 euros) was won by the LPO Normandie for its project to create a kit of educational games to raise awareness of climate change and the loss of biodiversity. The project was carried out on and in partnership with the Achères aggregates quarry in Yvelines. The project is now being rolled out within the group in France, across all activities.

[1] International Union for Conservation of Nature