Last week, members of staff from across our offices took part in a corporate volunteering day at ARK at Egwood, near Merriott. ARK at Egwood is an inter-generational land-based day service that promotes mental health and emotional wellbeing through meaningful outdoor engagement.
The days were not just about giving back to the community but were also a reflection of Lentells commitment to supporting the mental health of our staff. By partnering with ARK, the opportunity was provided for staff to step away from their desks, reconnect with nature and experience the therapeutic benefits of outdoor activity, teamwork and social connection - all things that ARK champion.
The first group visited ARK on Wednesday 8th October and were tasked with site maintenance for the morning session. This included tidying up the tennis court ready for winter activities and maintenance on the car park by filling it potholes and weeding the borders. A delicious lunch was served by ARK's volunteers, all made with homegrown produce, but not before a friendly yet competitive game of football with some of the other visitors! Afternoon activities included tidying up the garden and flower picking.
The second group went on Thursday 9th October and were tasked with flower picking and clearing the sunflower patch, ready for the next round of seeds to be sown. Their afternoon activities included tidying up the forest area with some fun tractor tire flipping and finished off the day tending to the animals on site, including the goats, pigs and chickens!
Feedback from the Lentells teams who volunteered with ARK was really positive, it was amazing to see first-hand how much they offer at ARK, the impact it has on those it provides a fantastic setting for. It was really rewarding to support a space that brings so much value to the local community.
Nigel Bell, CEO and Director of Business Development, at ARK commented "Everyone at ARK loved welcoming the volunteer teams from Lentells for two whole days, where due to their hard work, enthusiasm and respect for the ARK environment and people, helped us to get many jobs off our list, whilst also having a lot of fun. We look forward to working together again in the future.".
ARK creates a safe, outdoor space for people to relax, engage with others and improve their overall health and wellbeing. They do this through offering a number of rural based arts and crafts, workshops, growing their own produce and flowers, cooking and other activities on site.
A huge thank you to the team at ARK for welcoming us, we're already looking forward to being back in the spring with some more of our team!
