Store staff reach out to help environment

Volunteers from the Newark branch of Marks and Spencer helped fulfil the chain’s pledge of protecting the environment by helping out a charity.

During their day’s work the volunteers cleared a pond and created a planting area bracketed by sleepers at the Southwell Flower Pod, a social enterprise business run as part of Reach Learning Disability at Nottingham Trent University’s Brackenhurst campus, Southwell.

Store manager Mr Dean Law said the company was celebrating ten years of its promise to protect the environment and, as a result, stores around the country took part in a day of volunteering on Monday for numerous charities.

“We are out in the community giving something back,” Mr Law said.

“Reach is a relatively small charity and we chose it because of the great work that it does and because we felt what we were offering would have the greatest impact.

“We already give all of our unsold food to Reach and some flowers and plants. That is how we have the link.

“We started around two months ago with the planning and then we cleared and levelled the area for planting and a couple of the girls were in the pond in waders clearing out, which will all go to compost. Not bad for a day’s work.”

Marks and Spencer staff joined clients of Reach for a barbecue on Monday evening. The food was cooked on a barbecue previously built by the M&S team.

Jane Hufton, Flower Pod manager, said: “We are eager for community involvement.

“They have worked so hard and have done a lot that we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise.

“It has made a massive difference to us.”