On Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 28th July, dressed in their best gardening gear, two groups of staff members from the bank volunteered in Regent’s Park in London. Entering an area reserved just for the park’s wildlife, they proceeded to clear it of thistles, brambles and tree saplings that were threatening to overrun the native species in the meadow.

Tony Duckett, the Wildlife Manager at Regent’s Park said “I really wouldn’t be able to manage that site without the help of volunteers – we made such good progress over the two days, it’s made a huge difference.”

The work undertaken by our staff is extremely important to the park’s long-term ecological survival but the days also provide an opportunity for staff to meet new colleagues and get out from behind their desks and do something different for a few hours. Chloe Van Rensburg, who works in the Finance department, commented “It was most enjoyable! My top three things were being in the outdoors, doing something of value for someone else and seeing the results of a hard day’s labour.”

There are two more dates in the Summer 2010 edition of “Projects in Regent’s Park”: on 11 August, Nest box construction will bring staff together to make new wooden boxes to encourage different bird species to breed in the park, and a second round of Habitat management will take place in Leaf Yard Wood on 2 September.