An unusual Wednesday for the responsibletravel.com team
By Holly Foat, responsibletravel.com
It’s not everyday that you find a group of account managers, customer service advisors, project managers, web editors and company directors out of the office, covered in mud and digging holes in the Sussex countryside. But that’s exactly what you would have found if you had been in Sheepcote Valley last week.
Here at responsibletravel.com we believe that tourism should give something back to the environment and the local community. Not only do we make sure that our members operate on these principles, but we also live by them. That's why we give £1 from every booking to charity, have a compost bin (complete with worms) in our office and why we spent last Wednesday in Sheepcote Valley doing our bit for the local community.
Sheepcote Valley is a green and pleasant haven on the outskirts of Brighton often visited by families, dog walkers and unfortunately motorbikes. Responsibletravel.com staff, along with Neil the urban ranger, spent the day building small fences across the footpaths to stop motorcyclists from scaring and maiming walkers and dogs, and conserving the environment as a habitat for the local wildlife. We were very lucky with the weather, which despite forecasts was dry for most of the day. Some of us even got a little sunburnt!
It was all back breaking work but we took it in our stride. From stripping the bark off the wooden posts, to digging 2 ½ feet deep holes into the chalk and erecting the heavy posts and rails, we all found it very satisfying. Fuelled by several cups of tea we managed to get the job finished on time, despite a few nettle stings.
Some of our highlights of the day were watching the rabbits running around, seeing a fox creep up to our bags and threaten to steal our lunch and just generally being out in the fresh air and enjoying the view over Brighton and the sea.
All our hard work paid off and there are now many happy walkers and dogs roaming Sheepcote Valley no longer fearing unruly motorbikes.
If you know of anywhere we can help out and make a difference to the environment or the local community in the Brighton area on our next volunteering day please send your suggestions to Lyn@responsibletravel.com.
It’s not everyday that you find a group of account managers, customer service advisors, project managers, web editors and company directors out of the office, covered in mud and digging holes in the Sussex countryside. But that’s exactly what you would have found if you had been in Sheepcote Valley last week. Here at responsibletravel.com we believe that tourism should give something back to the environment and the local community. Not only do we make sure that our members operate on these principles, but we also live by them. That's why we give £1 from every booking to charity, have a compost bin (complete with worms) in our office and why we spent last Wednesday in Sheepcote Valley doing our bit for the local community.
Sheepcote Valley is a green and pleasant haven on the outskirts of Brighton often visited by families, dog walkers and unfortunately motorbikes. Responsibletravel.com staff, along with Neil the urban ranger, spent the day building small fences across the footpaths to stop motorcyclists from scaring and maiming walkers and dogs, and conserving the environment as a habitat for the local wildlife. We were very lucky with the weather, which despite forecasts was dry for most of the day. Some of us even got a little sunburnt!
It was all back breaking work but we took it in our stride. From stripping the bark off the wooden posts, to digging 2 ½ feet deep holes into the chalk and erecting the heavy posts and rails, we all found it very satisfying. Fuelled by several cups of tea we managed to get the job finished on time, despite a few nettle stings. Some of our highlights of the day were watching the rabbits running around, seeing a fox creep up to our bags and threaten to steal our lunch and just generally being out in the fresh air and enjoying the view over Brighton and the sea.
All our hard work paid off and there are now many happy walkers and dogs roaming Sheepcote Valley no longer fearing unruly motorbikes.
If you know of anywhere we can help out and make a difference to the environment or the local community in the Brighton area on our next volunteering day please send your suggestions to Lyn@responsibletravel.com.