EDF Energy staff ready to put down roots

Jan 4 2011 by Amy Hunt, The Journal

VOLUNTEERS are branching out to support a local nature reserve.

Sunderland-based EDF Energy has adopted a section of woodland at Durham Wildlife Trust’s Rainton Meadows for its employees to care for.

Green-fingered groups of staff from the firm, based at Doxford Park, will use the company’s Helping Hands volunteering programme to tend to the five-acre section of woodland, which is used by school and community groups, dog walkers and nature enthusiasts.

Kevin Gatens, EDF Energy’s head of customer contact centre North East, said: “We are always looking for ways to support our local community and to provide staff with new experiences.

“We have worked with Durham Wildlife Trust for many years and we are delighted to strengthen the partnership further by taking responsibility for an area of woodland.”

EDF Energy staff will be responsible for developing their area of woodland to encourage tree growth and provide an ideal habitat for wildlife at Rainton Meadows.

The focus will be on growing trees native to the UK including ash, oak, rowan and hazel. The reserve is already home to wildlife including brown hare, roe dear, voles, woodpecker and spotted fly catchers.

Durham Wildlife Trust is a charity which relies on public help to protect wildlife for the future. The Trust manages nature reserves and delivers conservation projects to protect the region’s wildlife. It also provides education and volunteering opportunities for thousands of children and adults every year.

Reserves manager Mark Richardson said: “We welcome the opportunity to continue to work in partnership with EDF Energy, which has always been a big supporter of the Trust’s work. The project at Rainton Meadows will enable employees from EDF Energy to have a sense of ownership in what is developing into one of the region’s premier nature reserves.

“Our Helping Hands programme allows all of our 1,800 employees at Doxford to take up to two days’ paid leave every year to volunteer in the community. The projects they work on not only benefit local people, they also provide personal development and team-building opportunities for staff.”