Biosphere Partner celebrates landmark anniversary by helping community

Biosphere Partner Stewart Clague Services (SCS) is celebrating 50 years in business by raising £50,000 for local good causes.

The company was founded in 1969 by Stewart and his wife Barbara. Today, it employs 110 people and its fleet of green vans is a familiar sight Island-wide.

The vans reflect the company’s green credentials. SCS considers sustainability in all aspects of its work, from energy use to waste management.

Via the Ballannette Trust, it established the Ballannette Nature Reserve in Lonan in memory of Stewart and Barbara’s daughter Annette, who died in 1995, and turned it into a valuable habitat for wildlife and nature.

There are plans to extend it, adding a new field and walking trails and inviting each pupil at Laxey Primary School to plant a deciduous tree. Stewart and his grandson, Tom, both attended the school.

Stewart – who was awarded the MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List – said: ‘I have never forgotten how good the school was to me, so it seemed like the perfect fit to let all of the children who attend each plant a tree.

‘This should also give pupils a sense of satisfaction and they will hopefully visit the area in years to come, perhaps with their own children, as the new woodland matures.’

Laxey School headteacher Max Kelly and his deputy Trish Dudley attended SCS’s 50th anniversary launch event this month and are excited about assisting in developing and using Ballannette Nature Reserve.

The company’s 50th anniversary logo also features a tree. A year-long calendar of events is planned.

Other local good causes that will benefit from the celebratory year are Hospice/Rebecca House, Cruse Bereavement Care Isle of Man, Isle of Man Anti-Cancer, Live at Home, Monitors 4 Kids, Royal British Legion, Age Concern Isle of Man and Manx MSA Trust.