Volunteers lend a hand in show of people power!

- 08 Sep 17

'Many hands make light work' was the motto of the day when a group of Bovis Homes' employees volunteered at the Forest of Marston Vale.

Members of the sales and marketing team for the national home builder's Northern Home Counties region were tasked with moving branches and trees to create a pathway through the woodland, creating new habitats for wildlife.

"We made contact with the Marston Vale Trust and asked if there was anything that we could help with," says Allison Slater, regional marketing manager. "For many charities and organisations it is people power that is lacking and that is something that we can help with.

"We were delighted to lend a hand and help with the conservation of the area. It's such a beautiful location and such an asset to the area. It was a pleasure to spend time here and I'm sure it's a place that many of the families moving into our homes at Marston Moretaine and Wootton will enjoy."

The largest environmental project in Bedfordshire, The Forest of Marston Vale covers 61 square miles between Milton Keynes and Bedford and encompasses woodlands, green and open spaces, farmland and villages. Since the formation of the Trust in the 1990s, over a million trees have been planted and new environments formed, creating a more verdant, dynamic area for people living and working in the region.

Jo Roberts, community engagement officer at the Marston Vale Trust, said: "Thinning out trees in woodlands is a long-established way of creating more diverse habitats for forest flora and fauna. Gaps in the woodland canopy mean that more light hits the forest floor, and a wide range of plants can grow. These in turn provide food for many of the woodland animal species, including several species of butterfly that like to display in these sunspots.

"Once the trees have been thinned out, we use a small machine to help take them out, and the branches and brash are left to provide homes for invertebrates and small woodland mammals.

"The work the Bovis Homes volunteers carried out was an important part of this woodland management, and they worked so hard on what was a pretty hot day! As a charity, volunteers are vital to the work we do, and play an important part in every aspect of our work."

Bovis Homes' Moreteyne Park and Little Wootton locations are both situated within the Vale, with the home builder's next phase, Wootton Park, providing a footpath leading directly into the woodland.

For more information about Bovis Homes, Moreteyne Park and Little Wootton, go to www.bovishomes.co.uk or visit the sales information centres.

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