A 12-strong team from Wain Estates teamed up with Groundwork Greater Manchester for a day of environmental action at Trafford Ecology Park.
The Park is a peaceful oasis of greenery hidden away at the heart of the busy industrial estate, providing a welcome escape for many workers with a pathway around a lake and the opportunities to hold meetings in a specially created ‘Meeting Place’.
It also hosts Forest School sessions for local school children.
But much of the park had become overgrown making access difficult in the school area and Groundwork asked Wain Estates for help through our Helping Hands volunteering scheme.
Led by Wain Group executive chairman Will Ainscough, and Wain Estates’ directors Mark Booth, Jack Brister, Peter Ainscough and Paul Wrigglesworth, the team was kept busy clearing pathways, building reading dens for the children and cutting back branches and overgrown vegetation.
They also cleared one of the Forest Schools' breakout areas, which had been overgrown with weeds and brambles, to make it more accessible and child friendly.
The day ended with a challenge to create the best bug hotel to help encourage insects and biodiversity within the park.
The Crawley Towers’ team of Rachael Davies, Jack Brister, Lynne Kennedy-White, Kevin Fletcher, Mike Jones and Mark Booth won the day with a ‘hotel’ design that boasts lots of different areas for the different bugs, including access ramps, slides, swimming pools, terraces, even walkways down from the trees.
Director Jack Brister, said: “It was hugely rewarding to spend the day helping to improve this vital resource to encourage biodiversity and support the local environment. It is already well used and shows the importance of well-maintained green spaces within the community.
“A group of school children walked past at the end and started exploring the area we had just cleared which was a great endorsement of our efforts and also the work of the Groundwork Team.”
The Ecology Park is close to the large former Shell refinery site at Carrington which Wain Estates is remediating and redeveloping with new homes, new employment areas and new village hubs surrounded by improved open spaces.
Natalie Ross from Greater Manchester Ecology Park who co-ordinated the day said: “We are extremely grateful for the help of the Wain Estates team for their help preserving Trafford Ecology Park. We rely on volunteers to make this space enjoyable for visitors and a safe haven for nature and hope that other businesses will be inspired to support this cause in the future.”