A team of EY volunteers stepped out of the office to support local charity, La Société Guernesiaise, with their work to safeguard the islands’ biodiversity.
Every year, EY employees get 15 hours of volunteering time, which they can dedicate to local charities and causes to contribute 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.
This year, the EY team joined forces with La Société Guernesiaise to undertake a beach clean at Portelet Bay to safeguard the prolific wildlife in the area. They also worked together on the orchid fields at Les Vicheries to cut back the hemlock water dropwort that encroaches upon the meadows.
This network of 15 meadows has been managed using traditional methods for many years; no artificial fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides have been used, very little cultivation has taken place, and the fields have not been ploughed since WWII. As a result, they have maintained their original flora and are very colourful in spring, when paths are cut around the fields so that visitors can take a closer look at the wild orchids. Manging the hemlock water dropwort ensures that the meadows remain clear whilst continuing to use traditional methods of land management.
Sarah Allez, Education Conservation Officer at La Société Guernesiaise, said: “We are so grateful for the help we receive from EY. It is a pleasure to partner with such enthusiastic, hard-working volunteers and each year they do a fantastic job. Having volunteers of this number assist us on our nature reserves is vital in helping us maintain and improve important wildlife habitats across the island. Thank you again to the volunteers for their brilliant efforts.”
Adam Knight, an Assurance Partner at EY who took part in the volunteer day, said: “Taking the time to give back and support our local community is so important to us, so we’re delighted to be able to work alongside La Société for another year and lend a helping hand with the vital work they are doing to protect and preserve our local biodiversity. As a firm, we’re passionate about building and contributing towards a sustainable future, so it’s great to come together and work as a team to support projects so closely aligned with our values.”
