CrossCountry Trains recently joined GreenTheUK and Sustrans on the Lias Line, where they have sponsored a mile of biodiversity improvements. The team volunteered their time to make a personal impact and support the biodiversity management plan for the area.

In the morning, the team built and decorated hedgehog homes, which were later placed along the banks of the cycle network to provide shelter and safe spaces for hibernation. They also created hibernacula by digging holes roughly 1m wide and 30cm deep, then filling them with logs, sticks, and bricks to create ideal winter habitats for amphibians such as newts.

In the afternoon, the group coated benches along the Lias Line to help protect them and sowed wildflower seeds in the shape of a butterfly, creating a future pollinator-friendly space.

We also visited their sponsorship sign at mile 41 of the National Cycle Network, located at what3words: exposes.push.tinny. If you visit in September, you may also spot an impressive pumpkin farm in the distance.