CORPORATE volunteering has been going from strength to strength at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, with companies from all over the county taking part in practical conservation tasks.

Donna Birch, the trust’s volunteering development manager, said: “It is great to see so many companies wanting to take part. The benefits and contribution that they make to the trust are so valuable and it’s good to have such a variety of people joining in.”

Corporate volunteering involves groups of employees taking part in practical conservation work to help manage sites for the benefit of wildlife and local communities.

The companies involved will go out in a group of usually about 12, and will then take part in a variety of tasks such as: ■ Scrub bashing and burning – during autumn and winter, this involves clearing away overgrown and invasive scrub and burning it on a large bonfire ■ Fence removal and installation – many of the trust’s sites have fencing and this needs removing and replacing ■ Path clearance – paths get overgrown on the trust’s reserves and it is important to have them cleared away ■ Beach cleaning – a huge amount of rubbish gets blown up on beaches.

Taking part in a beach clean not only keeps the area clean and prevents rubbish from going back into the sea, it is also a valuable way of collecting data to identify where the rubbish has come from.

All the tasks are monitored and supervised by reserves officers. Risk assessments, personal and protective equipment, tools and health and safety issues are covered by the trust.

As well as raising a company’s profile within their community, these tasks can help to build relationships within teams and boost morale. This in turn can have a beneficial effect on productivity as employees return to work feeling motivated and inspired.

In addition to this, you know that you are making a positive contribution to preserving the environment.

So, what do the companies taking part think about it all?

TimeBank works on behalf of Sony UK Limited to run its employee volunteering scheme. Employees get three days to volunteer in the local community, helping a range of organisations.

After a day helping the trust, one of the volunteers, Mark, said: “The best thing about the day was working as a team and getting the job done.

“I felt a real sense of satisfaction in seeing an area cleared at the end of the day and knowing we had made some contribution to the management of the woodland.”

If you are interested in corporate volunteering or would like any further information, call Donna Birch on 01489 774442 or e-mail donnab@ hwt.org.uk.