On Thursday 22nd September 2022, 14 Whitecroft employees dusted of their wellies, donned their waterproofs and prepared for a day’s work supporting The Lancashire Wildlife Trust on their peatland restoration project at Little Woolden Moss.
The team spent the day helping with a variety of tasks including path clearing, planting sphagnum moss and transplanting cotton grass. Elaine Dunlop, Whitecroft employee and volunteer said “You don’t realise the amount of work that goes into the day-to-day tasks at Little Woolden Moss.”, when she was asked what she enjoyed the most about the experience Elaine joked “The best part of the day was getting in some dry clothes and out of the rain!” adding “But also, the sense of achievement at what we had done and giving something back to the community.”
By the end of the day the team had cleared a section of path that had become overgrown and was almost impassable, and planted up an area around a small pool to encourage wildlife and provide protection for visiting insects.
The team ended the day exhausted but satisfied, in muddy wellies and waterproofs which turned out to be not so waterproof!
“Being out in the open and in the fresh air gives you a feel good factor and is great for anyone’s mental health and wellbeing. I’m really looking forward to helping out on any more opportunities like this, rain or shine” Elaine Dunlop, Whitecroft Lighting Stores Administrator
A Manchester based company, Whitecroft is surround by peatland habitats and understands the value healthy bogs have, not only as carbon stores (peatlands have the ability to store twice as much carbon as rainforests) but also as giant sponges, soaking up water and reducing flood risk. But restoring and maintaining peatland is intense work for which the Trust relies heavily on the support of volunteers and corporate groups.
Sarah Johnson, Lancashire Wildlife Trust Peatland Programme Manager said “Volunteers are absolutely vital to our work here at Lancashire Wildlife Trust. Without them many of our restoration works simply couldn't be completed. Especially when we are working on fragile sites, many jobs need to be done by hand and so without a dedicated volunteer workforce we simply wouldn't have the manpower to complete them.” And the benefits aren’t just for the bogs, “But not only that, our volunteers bring life and excitement to our sites, whether it's their first time volunteering with us, or they have been coming for years, volunteer days are always a highlight of our work.” Sarah added.
Whitecroft will continue to support the Lancashire Wildlife Trust with another group of employees will be heading out to lend a hand over the coming weeks.
©2024 Whitecroft Lighting | Company number 3848973
