On a windy and distinctly grey looking Wednesday morning, TCV welcomed a willing group of volunteers from Mondelēz to the Ley Hill Growing Site. The ‘Purple Army’ piled out of the minibus with eyes on the ominous clouds above and were each thrown a rather fetching pair of heavy duty, bright orange work gloves (sorry about the lack of colour co-ordination!). With obligatory team photos over, the group were split into two parties with one planting 400 edible hedging plants along the perimeter of the site, whilst the other group was given the task of organising and relocating piles of previously cut branches. The teams took to their work with some vigor, even managing to crack a smile or two when the sun finally emerged from behind the clouds. Work continued a pace with the teams working very efficiently and the newly planted hedgerow began to take shape. A rubbish collection was also conducted around the site producing some weird and wonderful artifacts! The volunteers seemed to really enjoy the work and were even keen to try some of the site grown sweet peas, which went down a treat!
After lunch in the Community Centre, the team boarded the minibus and headed for the Queen Elizabeth hospital site. Here the teams were shown the currently ‘under construction’ woodland walk. This walk way will be used for patients, visitors and hospital staff in order to relax, utilising a previously unused area of woodland near the hospital site. The volunteers were then armed with dippers and what seemed the world’s supply of bluebell and snowdrop bulbs, with their aim to plant as many as possible in areas around the entrance and throughout the walkway ready for them to emerge in spring. In the comparative chill of the woodland canopy the team got to it and working alongside three local volunteers successfully planted all the bulbs. After a quick debrief on the day’s activities and after all the tools were back on the bus the group left in high spirits vowing to return when they could get the time.