Ground Control and JLL Supports Making Edinburgh A Swift Sanctuary

Ground Control Supports Making Edinburgh A Swift Sanctuary

The swift is a medium-sized aerial bird, a superb flier, and spends at least ten months of the year flying non-stop. They eat, bathe, mate and even sleep on the wing! The other two months of the year, they nest and care for their chicks. Their return home at the start of May marks summer's coming, and they are regarded as a symbol of hope. Sadly, swift birds are in decline because of extreme weather conditions, and one of the biggest challenges that swifts face is the loss of nesting sites. Swifts often nest in the roof spaces of buildings, with pairs faithfully returning year after year to use the same nest site. Unfortunately, nesting sites in older buildings are often blocked off during renovation work or lost when demolished.

Ground Control is supporting the Edinburgh Swift City Project and installed five nesting boxes in redundant chimney stacks.

As part of our commitment to providing the best service to our Clients and their occupiers, JLL are always looking for innovative and fresh ideas on how best to enhance that service. One of the biggest drivers at the moment for us and our Clients alike are Social Values and Environmental ideas. Given its location, there are very limited options available for 81 George Street; however, when Simon from Ground Control mentioned the Edinburgh Swift City Project, I immediately saw this as an excellent and extremely worthwhile project for us to undertake; this was also very warmly welcomed by the Client who had no reservations whatsoever in approving this

Jack Creswell, Facilities Manager JLL

"It is so refreshing to be working with a client that doesn't just pay lip service to bio-diversity and sustainability projects but fully engages with collaborative thinking and actively encourages proposals and ideas to implement across their portfolio of sites".

Simon Breustedt, Contract Manager, Ground Control