Leisure staff give gardening some welly for national volunteering day

27th May 2015

A group of kind-hearted Sheffield leisure staff swapped city gyms for green spaces to mark a national volunteering day.

Employees from Sheffield City Trust (SCT) donned their wellington boots and gardening gloves to help maintain Chapeltown's picturesque Charlton Brook. They improved the site's stream and woodland as part of the annual employee volunteering event, Give and Gain Day, organised by national charity Business in the Community. Give and Gain Day, now in its seventh year, aims to get businesses across the world helping out with community projects. Rob Evans, operations and events manager at SCT's Westfield Sports Centre, who took part in the day, said: -We were delighted to help out in the local community as part of Give and Gain Day for the third year running. -Charlton Brook is a popular beauty spot for people to walk dogs, relax and admire the local wildlife. Hopefully, the work of our team and other companies helping on the day has brightened and enhanced what was already a picturesque environment. -Give and Gain Day is a brilliant way for thousands of businesses across the country to champion their communities. We are proud to have been a part of it. The volunteers completed four challenges as they cleared debris from the brook and cut back overgrown shrubs and trees; created a community garden and seating area with herbs and fruit shrubs; sanded down and painted benches; and painted the railings at the site's BMX track. Charlton Brook is approximately 10.8 hectares of green space within the High Green, Burncross and Chapeltown areas of Sheffield. It consists of a brook set in a valley, a dam with a variety of wildlife, woodland, meadows, ancient pathways and a children's playground. Sheffield City Trust is a not-for-profit charity which provides sport and leisure facilities and works to promote good health and wellbeing in Sheffield. For more information, visit www.sivltd.com.