Saltire Roofing & Building has joined forces with the RSPB to protect the swift population.
It comes after swifts were moved to the UK red list of endangered species at the end of last year.
The roofing & building industry has the potential to boost conservation efforts and Saltire is keen to lead by example, becoming the first company in Edinburgh to undergo “swift friendly roofing” training.
We have signed a pledge with the RSPB to take all reasonable and practicable steps to ensure that swift nests are not disturbed during any of our works and that these endangered birds are protected.
We are also investigating how we can work with others to build nest boxes and how these could be built sustainably from offcuts or surplus materials which can be reused.
Our efforts to raise awareness of swift friendly roofing were recently mentioned in an RSPB blog celebrating National Nestbox Week: https://tinyurl.com/yc7cy8kd
Saltire Roofing & Building Managing Director Steven McIntosh said:
“We were very sad to hear that swifts are now on the red list of endangered birds in the UK and we want to do our bit to stop them becoming extinct. As a roofing company, we believe we could play a significant role in raising awareness of the importance of swift conservation and educate our clients and customers on how they can help. We want to act as a positive role model for the roofing and building industry by demonstrating best practice in protecting our environment and being a swift friendly roofer is a badge we’ll proudly wear.”
Our pledge
We pledge to assist where possible to prevent further decline of the Common Swift (Apus apus) species, which includes:
- We can identify swift nest sites by eye or using Swift Mapper
- We will educate our clients about swifts and the options of both carrying out roofing works and protecting swifts by talking with them or giving them a booklet/pdf to read
- Where possible, we will leave swift nests undisturbed
- Where possible, we will carry out roofing works outside of swift nesting season which is between beginning of May to mid-August (in accordance with Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Amended) and the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004)
- Where roofing works need carried out within swift nesting season, we will ensure the access to entrance holes of swift nests are retained (in accordance with above laws)
- Where possible when roofing works are carried out outside of swift nesting season, we will ensure swift nests and access points are retained
- Where it is not possible to retain nests or access points, we will offer our client nest boxes to install whilst we are on the roof, following the nest box guidance
