Unilever Consumer Team Visit to New Ferry Butterfly Park

On Tuesday 16th October a team from Unilever spent the morning volunteering their time and energy at the New Ferry Butterfly Park. The visit was organised as part of their Vitality initiative for 2018. The objective was to make a difference to the local community, to build the team and to have fun outdoors.

On our arrival, we were welcomed by Paul and his team of regular volunteers. After a quick introduction to the park and the regulatory Health and Safety briefing, we spilt into teams to tackle a variety of activities.

One group took on the challenge of the invasive honeysuckle – a worthy opponent but it was defeated by the efforts of the Team. This group also rebuilt the layers of the insect house by stuffing it with dried fern leaves and pine cones.

Another group took on the composting challenge. This involved moving compost at various stages of decomposition from one bin to another. They also bagged up compost ready for sale to raise valuable funds for the park.

To allow the growth of spring flowers to attract the butterflies, another group scythed. This was hard work which was made to look easy by the regular volunteers, but a determined team completed the task and had the blisters and aching muscles to prove it!

The final group spent the morning coppicing, cutting down trees to encourage regrowth and to provide stakes for hedging work. This particular activity really built teamworking and co-operation skills.

The time flew by, it was coffee time before we knew it! After a short break which involved networking and some team members becoming acquainted with the compostable toilet facilities, we carried on until it was time for lunch. The volunteers from the park laid on a lovely barbecue for us which was enjoyed by all.

During our visit, the volunteers also took the time to show us around the park and explained to us how it runs. They also told us about the various activities they run throughout the year.

The Unilever Team returned to work feeling a sense of achievement and wellbeing (even with the blisters!).

We would like to thank Paul and all the volunteers for giving up their time and letting us join them in maintaining a beautiful local attraction. We hope to be back soon!

Philippa Toleman CTI Specialist, CTI Laundry, Unilever.