Planting for the Future
11 May 2010
On 27 April families from Aghadowey, Ballysally and Killowen were helped to plant native trees and wildflowers by Coleraine’s Mayor Sandy Gilkinson. Not put off by the April showers, 45 families from Coleraine enjoyed making environmental improvements to brighten their area whilst having fun as a family.
Ranging in age from toddler to grandparents everyone rolled their sleeves up and got stuck in to celebrate our Family Volunteering Together pilot. Funded through Department for Social Development this pilot looked into effective ways of getting families involved in community based projects in their local area.
We held 18 tasters events across Belfast and Coleraine during January to April, attracting over 300 family volunteers. These events saw many families new to environmental volunteering enjoying taking care of their local green space, learning new skills and having great fun.
Feedback showed that the main motivating factor for families was an activity which they could all get involved with and enjoy together. We were delighted that many stated how “a little bit of hard work and fun can make a big difference” with the majority of families looking forward to being involved in future environmental project in their area.
This has been a very positive project for Conservation Volunteers, one which we hope to extend into the future. It was very rewarding to see so many families enjoying spending time together to help their local environment.
For further information contact Dianne Keys, Community & Health Development Manager on 028 9064 5169 or email D.Keys@btcv.org.uk.