International company helps to restore local nature reserve

Improvements have been made to The Avenue Washlands Nature Reserve thanks to employees from the local branch of one of the world's foremost construction companies, Interserve Construction Limited.

15 members of staff from the Alfreton office joined Derbyshire Wildlife Trust for a day at the award winning reserve. The team helped with on-going habitat work including thistle topping and ragwort removal, both essential tasks to help maintain the diversity of the meadow and wetlands within the reserve. The team also helped resurface some of the reserve paths.

Sam Willis, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust’s Reserve Officer said, “It was fantastic to have the team from Interserve. They organised and donated all the materials we needed and even brought along all their own equipment. The whole team worked really hard over a wide range of activities and we have already had great feedback from some of the regular visitors to the reserve.”

Mike Shirley, Proposals Manager at Interserve said “At Interserve, we are passionate about giving something back to the local community. All of our staff are entitled to 2 days of volunteering per year and this was a great opportunity to make a difference. Everyone worked really hard and the team spirit was clearly evident. We are all proud to have supported the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust”.

The Avenue Washlands Nature Reserve is on part of the former Avenue Coking Works site at Wingerworth near Chesterfield. It is managed by Derbyshire Wildlife Trust on behalf of national land management charity, the Land Trust. It contains wetlands and grassland, providing a refuge for water voles, great crested newts and many wetland birds.

Opportunities

If you would like to volunteer with your company at any of our sites, please click here for more details.