A team of EY volunteers rolled up their sleeves and joined forces with local not-for-profit, Grow, to lend a hand with their ongoing projects to help create a more inclusive and sustainable environment for the local community.
Every year, EY employees get 15 hours of volunteering time that they can dedicate to local charities and causes, with the team choosing to support Grow through their annual volunteering day this year. This contributes to EY’s global corporate responsibility programme, EY Ripples. The programme aims to positively impact the lives of 1 billion people by 2030, with one of the core pillars being accelerating environmental sustainability.
Grow aims to establish Jersey’s most inclusive community horticultural project by transforming agricultural land into an organic, sustainable, and multi-crop space. This initiative is aimed at enhancing local food production and fostering community engagement. Additionally, Grow seeks to make a significant positive impact on the physical and mental well-being of islanders while raising awareness and educating the public on critical issues such as the climate emergency, regenerative agriculture, the alarming decline of pollinators, responsible soil management, and sustainable transportation.
Throughout the day, the EY team helped Grow with their restoration projects, including painting the shed and entrance gate. They also took part in weeding and de-docking to ensure healthy growth for the biodiversity, before planting a full lane of fruit and nut trees as part of Grow’s sustainability initiative.
Vishal Soorkia, EY Assurance Partner who was part of the EY volunteer team, said: “Giving back to our local community and contributing towards a sustainable future for everyone is at the forefront of everything we do, so it’s been great to come together with Grow and support them with all the fantastic projects and initiatives they are working on to build a better future for the island.”
Sheena Brockie, co-founder and designer of Grow, said: “We have been thrilled with the support from the EY volunteers. Despite challenges posed by high temperatures on the day, the team worked incredibly hard to deliver a wide range of benefits to the project. Grow is based in a large 12 vergee field, and we would struggle to deliver our wider aims without external support such as provided by EY”.
