Firm marks anniversary with nest box gesture

A business is marking its 10th anniversary by helping boost the area’s barn owl population.

Northallerton-based virtual assistant firm Business Owl, founded by Jen Workman in October 2016, has partnered with nature restoration organisation Make it Wild to sponsor a barn owl nesting box at Low Wood, Smelthouses, near Pateley Bridge.

It will give barn owls an alternative nesting site as development and changing land use reduce traditional habitats in old barns, buildings and mature trees. Jen Workman said: “I see this as a practical way to create a memorable connection between the company’s identity and its environmental credentials including its status as Carbon Literate.”

Make it Wild founding director Helen Neave welcomed the support. “We are grateful to Jen for choosing to celebrate her ten-year business milestone by sponsoring a Barn Owl Box with Make it Wild. These wonderful birds can struggle to find suitable habitat in which to breed and raise their young.”

Jen Workman launched Business Owl after finding traditional business support too inflexible and tied to long-term employment commitments. She previously worked in the legal sector and is a qualified Legal Executive.

Since launching the business, she has supported more than 70 companies, many of them local.

This article was first published in the Darlington & Stockton Times on 23rd October 2026.