A keen environmentalist, the Community Partnership Officer pulled on her wellies and joined other employees, who had all agreed to help the Planning & Environment Team plant native saplings called 'whips' in Ash Park, Banknock.

"I learnt how to plant trees!" Cath said. “Anna Perks, our Biodiversity Officer, showed us a very simple technique which helped us plant hundreds in just an hour and a half. We all then mucked in to help clean up the park. I used to work in litter prevention, so it was great to do my to help with that too.”

For Cath being able to provide a helping hand to increase biodiversity, contribute to climate change mitigation and improve the appearance of a park, was reward in itself.

She said: “I was keen to do my bit and I got a lot out of the day. I got to meet other employees who I’d never have normally come across and learn something new during working hours, which ultimately benefits the local community.

“That’s the great thing about the Employee Volunteering Policy, it’s flexible and allows you to use your time volunteering to support a Council service or a local charity or organisation doing good work in the area.

“I had a lot of fun. It was great to be outside working with my hands planting trees rather than typing emails!”

So why does Cath think other employees so take advantage of the policy?

“You can try something out that you may have wanted to do for a while but haven’t had time to because of work and personal commitments. The policy gives you that extra time to find something interesting, fun and useful to do outside of work but during your core hours.

“If you are office-based or work from home, it provides an opportunity to spend up to a day somewhere different, meeting new people and possibly getting out of doors now that spring/summer is here.”