Facelift for youth club and garden thanks to Burges Salmon staff
20 July 2010
Two groups of Burges Salmon lawyers, secretaries and support staff spent Friday 9 July supporting Business in the Community's nationwide Give and Gain day, volunteering to tame a wildlife garden as well as update an inner-city youth club and its environs.
St Philip's Marsh Nursery School's wildlife garden is a rare patch of green in an industrial area that was overgrown and abandoned. The Burges Salmon team prepared the site in advance of further improvements planned by the school over the summer. The orchard was cleared of weeds, garden areas taken back to bare earth and a pond liner sunk in preparation for the laying out of a pond area for children to study wildlife. Shrubs were pruned and, supported by Saunders' Garden World, two dwarf apple trees were donated and planted.
Burges Salmon team leader, Associate Jennifer Pendergast said:
"It was hard work, filling almost a hundred black bins bags with dusty, heavy bark, weeds and soil. But a fantastic day, supported by laughing children. We were working on one of the hottest days of the year and a slogan for next year might be 'drop a dress size and get a tan whilst your muscles scream!'".
Meanwhile, over at Bedminster Down Youth Club a further group of staff carried out some much needed repairs to the building and outdoors areas. The popular club opens three nights a week and is a hive of activity for kids aged between 9 and 15. The Burges Salmon team painted walls, mended fences and helped in the spreading of woodchips. The difference made in one day was impressive and indicative of how the focused effort of volunteers can benefit whole communities.
Team leader and second year Trainee Charles Delaney said:
"This is the second time I have taken part in the Business in the Community Give and Gain Day and yet again, the whole team has finished the day exhausted but proud of what has been achieved. The scheme of coming together and volunteering to help on a community project is a great initiative that benefits not only the users of that facility but also us as individuals. I've met people from different areas of Burges Salmon today and these are friendships that might not otherwise have happened".
Burges Salmon proactively supports the people of Bristol and the surrounding area in a number of ways – through trusteeships and voluntary activities, various charitable giving initiatives including the Burges Salmon Charitable Trust, pro bono work, in-kind support and participation in fundraising activities throughout the city.