Essex & Suffolk Water is proud to be sponsoring this year′s Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) Silver Lapwing Award ceremony, which celebrates farmers who go the extra mile to protect the countryside and local environment.
The 2018 Silver Lapwing Award ceremony will take place on Thursday 21 June at Eastwood Farm in Lowestoft. Eastwood Farm is run by Suffolk farmer Edward Flatt, who was the winner of the 2017 Silver Lapwing Award.
Eastwood Farm is located just a mile away from Essex & Suffolk Water′s Lound Water Treatment Works, which supplies drinking water to the towns of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, as well as surrounding areas.
William Robinson, Water Resources Manager for Essex & Suffolk Water said: "We are very pleased to be sponsoring this year′s Silver Lapwing Award ceremony, which celebrates farmers who are committed to good environmental practices.
"As a company which prides itself on protecting and preserving our local environment we were delighted to see last year′s award go to Edward Flatt, especially as Eastwood Farm is close to our Water Treatment Works. We look forward to this year′s ceremony being hosted in our region."
Chris Butler, Chair of the FWAG Association said: "The Silver Lapwing Award showcases the great conservation work that many farmers do, as stewards of our countryside. Edward Flatt′s commitment to conserving rare arable plants and his passionate approach to sustainable farming is an inspiration for farmers working towards even higher levels of environmental sustainability."
The Silver Lapwing award scheme has now been running for over 40 years. To win the award a farm must demonstrate a real commitment to species and habitat conservation, and be able to show how they integrate their environmental management in the overall farm business.
Essex & Suffolk Water supplies drinking water services to 1.8 million people. The Suffolk supply area is mainly rural with the largest towns being Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft. The company′s Essex supply area is part rural and part urban and includes Chelmsford, Southend and the London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge.