Over the last two years 34 groups from Aviva have taken part in work parties held at three Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserves: NWT Hickling Broad NNR, NWT East Wretham Heath and NWT Foxley Wood. During this period, staff from Aviva have done a significant amount of work in the reserves tobenefit the wildlife and habitat.
A further group of six staff from Horizon Business Centre attended
NWT Hickling Broad National Nature Reserve on Thursday 5 December. They continued the good work by clearing an area of reeds to get rid of the scrub trees, which will allow the reeds to grow back naturally and keep the habitat there for the endangered species.
Head of Fundraising, Nik Khandpur said; “AVIVA have made a huge difference – their involvement has been equivalent to the Trust employing an additional member of staff for two years. Much of the conservation work that needs to be carried out on our nature reserves can be very labour intensive, which makes the role of volunteer corporate groups, like these from Aviva, crucial in protecting and managing our sites for wildlife. We are extremely grateful to Aviva for their commitment to NWT Hickling Broad.”
Megan Cropley, who lead the team from Aviva said; “At Aviva we are very keen to support local community projects and Hickling Broad is close to the hearts of many. This is something we as a team can feel very close to and show that we’re doing something really positive for such a beautiful local area.
“It’s fantastic that Aviva has shown so much support for Hickling Broad and it’s great that our team can be a part of it."
Aviva staff have helped Norfolk Wildlife Trust to:
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Cut, mow, remove and clear over 6 hectares of scrub and fen at Hickling Broad
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Clear over 2 hectare of Broad edge
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Construct an otter holt at Hickling Broad
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Rebuilt boardwalks and constructed wheelchair access on path
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Repaired boat jetty and spring cleaned hides and education room
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Dug, laid and planted a wildlife pond
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Assemble a new gate, built a corral and fencing as part of grazing infrastructure
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Build a dipping platform for use by education parties and visitors to the reserve
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Remove and rewind over 3,000 metres of barbed wire and posts ready for recycling
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Repair a 1,000 metre stretch of fence by replacing posts, restringing wire
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Plant over 100 metres of native hedge
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Coppice ½ hectare of ancient woodland
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Clear scrub from over ½ hectare of ancient heathland