Countryside Partnerships : Volunteers Week 2022

At Countryside, our mission is to build places people love and create communities that last, and we are always looking for new ways to give back to the communities in which we work. This week, to mark the start of Volunteers Week, we wanted to showcase some highlights of the fantastic volunteer work that the teams from Countryside have been doing across the UK.

Earlier this month, the Countryside Partnerships North team worked tirelessly over two days to take over an empty wooded area within the gardens of Derian House Children's Hospice. With spades in hand, the Countryside team transformed the area into a charming garden, completed with fresh grass, planted trees, and picnic tables. Their hard work certainly paid off, as the new garden is now ready just in time for Derian's families to enjoy over the summer - the hospice will open up its gardens in July and visitors will get the chance to see the newly transformed picnic area, as well as the freshly painted seaside garden, the smile park playground, the sensory garden, and the newly-added infinity pool water feature within the reflection area. Alongside the garden overhaul, Countryside has also supported Derian House throughout the last year and raised £2880 for their nominated 'Charity of the Year'.

Meanwhile, the Countryside Partnerships South Land and New Business team spent the day at the Granville Community Centre next to our Peel Development in South Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, clearing out the community centre's garden ahead of their summer community event. The community event had a wonderful turn out and so many of the staff, including the CEO and Head of the Trust at The South Kilburn Trust, came over to thank the Countryside team for making such a difference and helping them to get the site ready for their community day, which will now be a lot easier to maintain thanks to the help of our team.

We want to thank the Countryside teams throughout the UK who volunteer each and every year for all of their hard work, and we very much look forward to continuing our efforts and securing new volunteering opportunities for Countryside employees in the months ahead.