Over 50 volunteers from EY took part in conservation days across the Islands to support La Société Guernesiaise and The National Trust for Jersey, with their efforts to protect and preserve the local environment.
In Guernsey, the team helped the La Société Guernesiaise team at Edible Guernsey, where La Société’s Education Team has recently become a stakeholder. Throughout the day, the team helped to clear the outdoor areas of brambles and weeds to prepare the area for restoration. In Jersey, the team supported The National Trust with their hedge maintenance project at Devils Hole by maintaining the hedgerow trees allowing them to grow to maturity and create valuable wildlife corridors, shelter belts and landscape enhancements.
Becky Ogier, Education Conservation Leader at La Société Guernesiaise, said: “We were delighted to be offered a large team of volunteers from EY to assist us at Edible Guernsey, where La Société’s Education Team has recently become a stakeholder and where we will be holding educational activities during the winter. The volunteers weeded bays to prepare them for cultivation and removed bramble from both the greenhouse and outdoor area – we are extremely grateful for their hard work and can-do attitude!”
Conrad Evans, Volunteer Coordinator at the National Trust for Jersey, conveyed his gratitude, saying: “Many thanks for the work that the team from EY carried out. They managed to clear hundreds of metres of hedgerow of vegetation that was threatening to swamp and suppress the hedging whips that The National Trust planted two years ago. Without their support we would have struggled to achieve as much in the same timeframe. We have several miles of hedgerows planted between Crabbe and Devil’s Hole and this will have made quite an impact.”
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. This programme sets out to positively impact the lives of 1 billion people by 2030, with one of the core pillars being accelerating environmental sustainability.
Ove Svejstrup, a Partner at EY who took part in the volunteering day in Guernsey, said: “Supporting local charities and having the opportunity to give back to our local community is so important to us at EY, so it’s been fantastic to see our people come together as a team to support our local communities, whilst contributing to our global corporate responsibility goals.
“The work both La Société Guernesiaise and The National Trust for Jersey do to protect our local biodiversity and help build a sustainable future is crucial, so we are pleased to be able to play a small part in helping these charities work towards their goals.”
