On Tuesday, Rachel and I ventured the other side of the airfield fence at Gatwick, to learn about the important work of the airside operatives; an integral
team at the airport which we do not often get to meet. It was a pretty early start, shuttling
over to the airside operations building in order to catch the night shift hand-over. We met in the operations briefing room and gave a presentation to the team, explaining our work and the biodiversity
project at Gatwick.
We spoke about which species of conservation concern can be
found at the aerodrome, and how our staff volunteering programme has grown over
the past 4 years. We also explained how the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership helps
Gatwick to manage its land-side biodiversity areas without impacting any
operations and maintaining a safe environment for people and wildlife.
The talk seemed to be well received, and for the remainder
of the morning we accompanied the bird dispersal unit on their rounds in the
yellow ‘ops vehicle’, Leader 5. These guys know the airfield and its operational
routines like the back of their hand, and they demonstrated the responsible
ways they help birds and aircraft avoid conflict.
A pause at the western end of the taxiway
We learned in particular about the 'Scarecrow' bird dispersal system, which plays species-specific sounds to scare birds away from operational
areas. This has been a valuable experience for
Rachel and I, to understand the work of airside operations and the management
of the airfield habitat.
Katie demonstrates the 'Scarecrow' system
The other great result is that we have been invited back to
give further talks to airside teams about conserving Gatwick’s biodiversity,
and to offer further opportunities for staff and their families to get
involved.
Many thanks to Helen, Katie, Simon and all the Black
Watch team for their warm and friendly reception.
