Making a difference

More than 30 new graduates from Perkins spent three days clearing reed beds and scrub at Whittlesey’s nature reserve, as part of the company’s community service programme.

An intensive programme of works saw the graduates undertake a number of varied activities at the Lattersey Nature Reserve, from reed bed management around the lakes to scrub removal to help improve access for the public.

Managed by The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough, the 28-acre nature reserve, with grassland, woods and ponds provides a refuge for a large number of birds, butterflies and plants.

Perkins plays an important role in the local area and is keen to ensure its new graduates learn more about and get involved in community activities. As well as benefiting the community, the event will enable the graduates, who started at Perkins last month, to work together as a team on a project.

Perkins’ corporate social responsibility co-ordinator, James Daffurn said the work at Lattersey Nature Reserve would also allow the graduates, many of who have moved to Peterborough from other areas of the country, to feel a part of the local community.

“Throughout their career we want our graduates to engage with the community and support the many projects Perkins is involved in such as the successful reading buddies scheme and environmental initiatives like Peterborough Environment Project,” stated James.

This year Perkins’ Peterborough site has taken on more than 30 graduates across a wide range of disciplines including HR, engineering and finance.

Dan Richardson, reserves officer for the Wildlife Trust is delighted with the offer of help: “Perkins have been dedicated supporters of the Wildlife Trust for many years, most recently through their support of our Go Wild Project. I am really pleased that their new members of staff will be getting involved directly with our work to improve the wildlife habitats in this fantastic local nature reserve.

“The work the teams will do will be hard and dirty, but the benefits to wildlife will be great. It is important to clear the wetland areas so that they do not get choked with bushes and trees which cause them to dry out. “

Lattersey is home to a variety of wildlife including water voles, water shrews and insects such as dragonflies and damselflies, rare beetles and moths. In and around the water are reeds and sedges and other wetland plants.

PICTURE: Perkins graduates hard at work at Lattersey Nature Reserve.