There are all kinds of companies and teams. Some companies sign their employees up for team-building hands-on skills days, and others want to go paintballing to add colour to team bonds.
Protect Earth has had more than a few companies choose to join us on-site in the sun and rain, doing a load of green good, from planting trees to laying mulch mats protecting saplings from the hot sun. Aside from doing the plants good, it’s also done those who’ve joined us good - “highly rewarding and [the] team came away feeling they had made a positive impact” was one follow-up comment we received. This is just the type of feedback we love hearing!
In the 2022/23 planting season, Protect Earth planted a massive 25,671 plants all over the UK, laid 3,000 mulch mats, and cleared 900 tonnes of invasive species! Some of this extraordinary effort was done by volunteers.
How corporate volunteering with Protect Earth works
When an organiser contacts us to work together, we do our best to match up projects. We have learned that matching the number of people available on a day with the number required for a planting session is best. Funnily enough, having too few people or too many hands to get through a job quickly saps motivation from the group. We also try to ensure that our volunteer group doesn’t have to travel too far - something not too difficult to accommodate as we plant in many areas all over the UK.
To cover the Ps and Qs, each session will have a Protect Earth team member on hand who is first aid certified, and we do have insurance coverage.
What can Corporate Volunteers expect when they join Protect Earth for the day?
Our planting sessions don’t start too early in the morning.
Also, some people have planting experience, some are keen gardening grafters, and others have other skills. That’s OK - we account for a range of experience. Generally, the day will begin with a kit distribution and a demonstration of what to do. We bring the equipment needed for the day. As another volunteer told us, “Training on how to plant trees and the day was fun!”
Volunteers just need to bring themselves, clothes/ layers to stay warm and dry, and food and drink. Also, sunblock! Yes, we plant during wintertime in the UK. Bring sunblock.
Generally, Protect Earth’s team will have already planned for the day and laid out what’s to be planted in the best places they should be. After the demonstration, it’s time for everyone to put an elbow to the grindstone and get stuck
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Steve the Ecologist teaching a new generation! Planting is fairly simple, but it does help having a little initial explanation, which Steve is happy to help with [/caption]
in! Although it’s not a competition, we can’t always say what happens on the day! Some volunteers who came out with us showed us how to do the job, “We were to[o] quick, so they couldn’t catch up with preparing for us!”
It is hard work - it’s digging, it’s lifting, it’s dirty - and it’s out of doors in fresh air.
Long story short, it’s revitalising. It is rewarding for volunteers when they step back at the end of the day to see what they’ve accomplished and imagine what it will all look like in the future.
“It was (despite the heat) a pleasant day out and really satisfying to peer down the top of a tree guard and see a little tenacious bit of baby tree carrying on.” came feedback from another volunteer. “The farmers were great as well, very welcoming and they brought us out some cold drinks and homemade loaf in the afternoon which was very kind of them and much appreciated.”
We love bringing people out for the day. It’s an experience that never gets old for us. So, if your team would benefit from a day with us, please contact us.