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Making a change for good
‘Change for good’ sums up much of what you need to know about Ecosurety. The fact is, we are acutely aware that there is so much more we could, and should, be doing beyond our day to day work. This is especially true when we inherently care so much about the wider issues that affect our world and environment.
It's only natural that we encourage our team to go the extra mile to make a difference. Why? Simply because it’s the right thing to do.
Our 'Change for good' projects started with a number of good causes that we continue to support, including a micro-loans charity in Africa and a food waste initiative that provides sustainable food for our events.
It has since developed into our CSR initiative that empowers our team to create and deliver some truly awesome, award winning projects that don’t necessarily link directly to our day-to-day work.
From running fun-packed educational workshops with primary school children to helping thousands of commuters reduce their impact on the environment, discover why it is time to make a change for good - you may even be able to get involved too!
Mentoring local school children
In 2019 our CSR project saw us teaming up with West of England Mentoring to mentor local school children at Patchway Community School. Getting involved with the future generation was really exciting for our team, plus quite a challenge! We are always looking to create a positive impact in everything that we do and mentoring offered growth for both us and the children.
Find out more about West of England Mentoring
We invited the local students into our office to inspire and nurture them within a professional environment, undertaking workshops and small group sessions. Our diverse and talented team had much to share and designed the content of the sessions based on their own experiences and stories.
Engaging with a group of local students we would not normally have the chance to meet was a brilliant way to give something back to the local community that will help to positively change young lives - challenging beliefs about career choices and helping to breakdown stereotypes.
"The mentoring sessions at Ecosurety have been an extremely valuable experience for our Year 8 students, every session was carefully prepared by the team and delivered in such a way that the students really looked forward to going back each time. It has been an experience that the students will not forget. Thank you Ecosurety!"
Sherie Humphreys, Business relationships & careers co-ordinator, Patchway Secondary School
We all need a little inspiration sometimes. With positive volunteer mentors from local organisations, West of England Mentoring is helping students aged 12-15 raise aspirations, follow their interests and make plans for the world of work. Click here to find out more.
Bear Wood at the Wild Place Project
Our 2018 CSR project saw us working with The Wild Place Project in Bristol to help establish a new conservation area complete with wild species that would originally have called our native woodland home.
Our team ran education workshops with local school children and raised money to help build a new education center. Find out why this project matters and how we literally went the extra mile to raise much needed funds!
Visit the Wild Place Project
About Bear Wood
Using an existing area of ancient woodland, Bear Wood will re-introduce species that were once native to our shores that have long since vanished due to human activity and habitat loss. In this way, Bear Wood will act as a time machine, enabling visitors to travel back thousands of years to see bears, lynx, wolves and wolverines in a natural environment.
A classroom, ranger station, interpretation space and elevated walkways will make Bear Wood an immersive experience for all visitors, particularly schools and children from disadvantaged areas who will be directly engaging with the project. Bear Wood is the story of what was, where we are now and what is still at stake.
Rolling our sleeves up!
Teams of Ecosurety volunteers have been on site to help build the foundations for the new educational facilities, breaking a sweat and generally getting stuck in with spades, wheelbarrows, saws and drills! It is a great way to help progress the project at no cost to Bear Wood, whilst providing valuable team-building activities for our staff.
We have also engaged with a local school to run educational workshops on-site at the Wild Place, using interactive games to teach the children about habitat loss and bio-diversity. This has been a fantastic way to start making an educational impact while the project is being completed and more workshops with local schools are planned in September.
Working hard to raise funds
All the money we have raised will be directly invested in the educational facilities at the Wild Place Bear Wood project.
Our annual members survey helped to raise £800 as we pledged to donate £5 for every survey completed, whilst in June, 12 intrepid members of the team conquered the Three Peak Challenge - climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon in 24 hours, raising over £3,000 along the way. A brilliant effort that really did push them to the limits!
Later in 2018 a charity music gig in Bristol helped us push the grand total to well over £5,000 - a brilliant effort all round that will make a tangible difference to the Bear Wood project.
Avon Wildlife Trust
Our project for 2017, led by client services manager Abigail, saw us working with Avon Wildlife Trust at their Feed Bristol site. Our team was tasked with landscaping the latest, and biggest, pond on their site that would help to create a link between the other existing habitats. Located only a few miles from our office it was a natural choice for us to help support local wildlife, and also to get the team outside for some hard toil in the sun and rain!
Visit Avon Wildlife Trust
Benefiting more than wildlife
The beautiful eight acre Feed Bristol site is a hub of bio-diversity in the middle of our city where nature is encouraged to flourish thanks to an abundance of native flora, hedgerows, trees and ponds - all thanks to the hard work Avon Wildlife Trust.
It is not only the wildlife that benefits from the Feed Bristol site however, the it also supports families, community groups and schools with different needs, promoting health, wellbeing and education through outdoor activities.
An impressive result
Throughout the month of May various members of our team spent a day working on the pond, under the direction of the excellent Feed Bristol experts. In total we donated more than 240 hours and over £5,000 for materials, and the result is looking impressive as the habitat matures.
As you might have guessed this isn't your average pond - features include a natural clay lined base instead of a plastic liner, a covered pond dipping platform with rainwater harvesting, willow hedging, bog area, multi-habitat landscaped bank, planting scheme with thousands of native wild flowers and a collection of hand-crafted bug hotels.
Planet Protectors!
Our 2016 project involved our staff visiting local primary schools throughout the year to raise awareness and educate youngsters about the connected issues of waste, recycling and habitat loss. Oh, and they had a huge amount of fun too!
Engage and inspire children
With a firm belief that the best way to engage and inspire young children is to have fun, our team created a series of games and workshops, each with a specific educational aim.
From 'Species Jenga' to 'Musical Habi-chairs', the games are entertaining, active and thought provoking - and not only for children it turns out after testing them on our team!
Learning about the effects on the environment
The children had lots of energy and impressed us all with their knowledge, particularly how quickly they learned during the games. Here are a few of the comments that the pupils said after the workshops:
'I really liked the material challenge and if my phone breaks or smashes I'm definitely recycling it.' Alfie
'I thought it was clever because it was fun but we also learnt about the effects on the environment.' Ava
'I really enjoyed musical chairs as I got to be active but also learn about habitats.' Harvey
joinmyjourney
joinmyjourney was our first change for good project, born out of frustration with our daily commutes. Working in partnership with South Gloucestershire Council and North Bristol SusCom, we set about developing a permanent solution. The result? joinmyjourney.org, a journey sharing website that could quickly match up commuters travelling to the same workplace destination to share journeys by car, bicycle or on foot.
Contact us
How it works
Once an organisation signs up they have access to their own branded joinmyjourney website that only their employees can access. Users then sign up, entering basic information including their journey start location and times of travel and then the clever bit happens.
A map displays their route to work along with all their fellow commuters that they could be sharing journeys with. With only a couple of clicks a user can then contact another through the website without sharing any personal information. Simple.
Is it time you joined our journey too?
Since launching in 2015 for free to Aztec West commuters, joinmyjourney has won two Travel West awards and is now available to over 85,000 commuters travelling to over 100 organisations, including the NHS, Rolls Royce, HP and Avon Fire and Police. New features in 2018 include sustainability reporting tools and promotional materials for organisations.
Available for free to Ecosurety gold members, isn't it time you joined our journey too? Contact us to find out how.
Deki
Set up in 2008, Deki is a local Bristol based charity that empowers people living in poverty to create sustainable livelihoods by providing access to ethical microloans and training to entrepreneurs in the developing world. Deki was the first charity in the UK to raise loan capital through lenders and donors for people in developing countries who don't want to rely on handouts.
Visit Deki
A continual investment
Our support for Deki began with a challenge to our team in the Tenner Tournament - split into six teams, how much money could they raise from an initial investment of only £10, with the resulting cash to be invested through Deki?
After running a number of innovative money raising initiatives for a month our team raised a grand total of £3,783.57 that continues to be re-invested today.
Wecyclers
Wecyclers is an innovative recycling initiative in Lagos, Nigeria. It enables households to transform their waste into something of value, whilst benefiting the local recycling industry with a steady stream of material. By reducing waste and pollution in local communities, Wecyclers are driving an improvement in welfare including a reduction in diseases like malaria.
Visit Wecyclers
Using a fleet of ultra-green, low-cost bicycle powered collection vehicles - called 'wecycles' - Wecyclers work in close partnership with the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to collect recyclable waste including plastic bottles, bags and aluminium cans.
The concept is simple - households are rewarded with points for every kilogram of recyclable waste they supply, exchangeable for food, household goods and cell phone minutes.
As an official partner of Wecyclers, in 2015 Ecosurety donated two 'wecycles'. The impact of this is very tangible on the local community as it creates new employment opportunities for two people, continually improves the local environment, increases recycling and provides valuable rewards for 300 participating households - all through resource efficiency.
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