Organised by the South East Alliance (SEA), representatives attended Beggarwood Woodland Park Local Nature Reserve to help park rangers with a habitat restoration project.

The park is a 24-hectare site designated as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) and Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC), which is managed by Old Down and Beggarwood Wildife Group, and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, whose park rangers work to maintain and improve the site.

During the visit, the volunteers were split into teams, with VolkerLaser representatives, Dave Williams, James Skelding, Oli Beesley, and Cory Langford, helping with thicket thinning. 

This process ensures that the natural habitat remains healthy, can support a variety of wildlife, and can also provide a buffer-zone for the park. They also removed blackthorn from a section that will eventually be restored to a wildflower meadow, and created brash piles from the green waste produced ready to either be chipped, or turned into dead hedges.

We caught up with Dave Williams at the end of the day. He said: “It was great to see so many organisations coming together in this community event. VolkerLaser was well represented, and I would like to send my appreciation to James, Oli, and Cory for attending and taking part in the activities. Getting involved in this volunteering initiative reinforces our commitment to social value, which we aim to build upon in 2024. It also provides tangible benefits to those who live in and around the areas of our operations.”