As a new year starts, so another successful CSR project draws to a close! In true Ecosurety fashion, here we review the success and impact of our 2018 project and look ahead to our new CSR initiative this year.
Our 2018 CSR project was all about working within the local community and educating our future generations on the vital importance of protecting the environment and our biodiversity, and hopefully inspiring some future sustainability leaders in the process.
To achieve this we joined forces with Bristol's Wild Place Project (run by Bristol Zoological Society) to help establish a new conservation area complete with wild species that would originally have called our native woodland home, including bears, lynx, wolves, wolverines - before human activity drove them to extinction in Britain. Furthermore, we have specifically focused on helping to create a new education centre within the new site to facilitate continued education of children from all over the South West.
An educational experience
Working with staff and pupils from Woodstock School, a community special school who work with some of the most disadvantaged young people in Bristol, we gave pupils (and staff!) a fun and educational experience at The Wild Place in April.
As well as the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful outdoor space and interacting with the animals, including wolves and giraffes, the children played various educational games - such as 'Biodiversity Jenga' and undertook challenges, all aimed at teaching them about the importance of preserving our biodiversity and the devastating impact humans can have.
Breaking new ground
Over two days in May and June, 20 Ecosurety staff volunteered for the day at The Wild Place, putting in some hard graft to help to build the foundations for new buildings at the site. This generally involved breaking a sweat lifting, hammering, sawing, chopping and digging!
It proved to be really satisfying for all involved and a wonderful team building exercise.
Raising much needed funds
The Wild Place Project is part of Bristol Zoological Society. To carry out the amazing conservation work they do at home and around the world, they need to generate their own income and rely a great deal on charitable support from private philanthropists and businesses.
As such, a core part of our project was to help raise funds to furnish the new education centre at Bear Wood with IT equipment for interactive learning, TV screens and camera traps on site to provide exciting footage of the wildlife.
The funds were raised through generous sponsorship of a number of activities we undertook, including an auction at Bristol Zoo's gala dinner, a rock 'n' roll charity gig kindly hosted by Bristol Rovers Football Club, and an epic 'Thee Peaks Challenge'.
11 of the Ecosurety team took part in the incredibly tough 'Three Peaks Challenge' in June that saw them conquer Ben Nevis, Scaffell Pike, and Mount Snowdon in 24 hours. An emotional and great fun experience that helped to raise valuable funds for the pot and certainly bonded our passionate team even tighter together!
Find out more about this adventure by clicking here.
Summary
It's been an amazing year and a lot of fun running the project as a team. There have been plenty of emotional highs and lows, with lots we will take forward into 2019's CSR project to ensure we replicate the successes and learn from the challenges we've experienced (details of our 2019 CSR project are to be revealed very soon, watch this space!). Ultimately however, the most important consideration is the impact we've been able to have.
We're delighted to confirm the total fund raising amount was in excess of £5,000, which we were delighted to hand over to the Wild Place. This will ensure the completion of the education centre at the Bear Wood site which is due to open in late 2019. Additionally, we have had fantastic feedback from Woodstock School regarding the sessions we ran with the children there, and will hopefully be able to replicate that again with local children at the new centre to inspire our future sustainability leaders.
Rich Rollings from Bristol Zoo/KOR Consulting commented “We are grateful for the support from the Ecosurety team and the funds raised will be essential in helping us to create a hub of education for children all over the west to learn and be inspired about the vital importance of preserving our biodiversity.”
Thank you to all our friends, colleagues, members and business partners who supported the project this year, we believe it will have a lasting impact for some our future generations and the environment, and we look forward to another successful Ecosurety 'Change For Good' initiative in 2019!
To find out more about our CSR activities, please click here.
Jon Brookes
Partnerships Director
As head of partnerships Jon is responsible for overseeing the sales, marketing and client services teams. Building strong relationships with industry and delivering business value to our members is paramount, with the ultimate goal of driving forward the positive impact Ecosurety has on increasing ethical and quality recycling. Fair to say he is a busy man!
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