Our Water Hero: Craig Airey

Meet Craig Airey, our Project Civil Engineer at the Buxton bottling site! On top of his day-to-day job of managing construction projects, he also volunteers at the on-site Waterswallows Nature Reserve. Since 2019, he’s helped transform it into a vibrant habitat with over 200 trees and 3.5 hectares of wildflower meadows – the largest in Buxton, according to a local ecologist!  Home to native species and soon to have a bee colony, it’s Craig’s pride and joy, offering a beautiful space for our team and the community. Hear from Craig below. 

On top of my engineering job, I’m sowing wildflowers and building bug hotels 

I’m the Project Civil Engineer for Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages UK in Buxton, where we bottle Nestlé Pure Life and Buxton waters at source. Anything that’s construction related, such as walls, roofs, drainage, roads and car parks, I’m the first port of call. I’ve been at the company since 2014, and I can genuinely say that I really enjoy working here. I’m lucky enough to live and work in the beautiful Peak District and get involved with some fun projects on the side. 

Largest wildflower meadow in Buxton  

On top of my engineering role, I volunteer to take care of the Waterswallows Nature Reserve that surrounds our bottling plant. When I first got involved with the project back in 2019, the land wasn’t doing much. Since then, we’ve planted more than 200 mature trees and sown the land with native seeds. We now have more than three and a half hectares of wildflower meadows – the largest in the Buxton area, according to a local ecologist! 

Flourishing species and sustainability goals  

The reserve was part of Nestlé’s sustainability strategy to regenerate the landscape and it’s doing really well. It’s now home to many native species, including birds like the meadow pipit and insects such as peacock butterflies, emperor dragonflies, six-spot burnet moths, and even red-tailed bumblebees. The next step is to introduce a bee colony here. A couple of my colleagues volunteered to help with that, and they all have taken a beekeeping course.  

Of everything we’ve done so far, I would say the bug hotel is my pride and joy. It was built on a volunteering day using waste products we found around the factory. It works well, although don’t ask me how! 

The nature reserve is partially open to the community as the public footpaths joins our land. We’ve introduced an information board so people can learn more about the wildlife here. To see these species coming into the area is so rewarding. I recently met a local nature enthusiast who told me she took an hour to walk just 50 yards because there was so much to look at along the way. She was full of praise for the meadow, which is always great to hear (especially from someone with nature expertise). 

Community benefits and personal joy  

Probably the biggest success of the project for me is that others can now appreciate the space. I could quite easily be staying at my desk all day long, but instead I can do something important on top of my day job. I’m helping look after the local environment, not only for the company but for the community too.  

More volunteers are always welcome, you won’t regret it! 

About the author 

Craig Airey is the Project Civil Engineer at Nestlé Waters & Premium Beverages UK bottling site in Buxton.