SAD 2011

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22/06/2011

 

The Otley Chevin Forest Park recently played host to sixty five staff from local environmental charity Groundwork, who swapped their day jobs to carry out a range of conservation tasks on this important and popular natural site.

Landscape Architects, community development workers, managers and finance staff donned their protective gloves and hi-vis jackets to undertake activities such as balsam bashing, vegetation clearance, fence dismantling, and step repairs – all under the watchful eye of Leeds City Council’s Parks and Countryside department.

Groundwork organises a staff activity day each year, which not only acts as a great team-building experience for staff, but also aims to give something back to the communities and partners they work with all year round. This year’s event had added significance by coinciding with the European Year of Volunteering ‘environment’ themed months of May and June, which aims to highlight the vast range of environmental volunteering opportunities available to people, and the array of benefits in undertaking voluntary activity.

Parks and countryside outreach manager, Emma Trickett said: “It’s fantastic that Groundwork decided to spend their staff activity day improving the Chevin for people and wildlife.  The Parks and Countryside service are always delighted to work with organisations that, like Groundwork, choose to spend their team building days enhancing the environment of Leeds”.

To find out more to find out more about volunteering on the Parks and Countryside of Leeds as a group or individual, contact the Rangers on 0113 237 5320 or countrysiderangers@leeds.gov.uk

To find out more about other environmental volunteering activities in Leeds, please visit www.leedsgreenvol.co.uk