Steve’s Volunteering day at St Ann’s Allotments
At the end of 2024 and the start of 2025, Steve Fed our Technical Support Manager for the Midlands, participated in two inspiring volunteering sessions with STAA. STAA is a charitable organisation based at the historic St Ann’s Allotments in Nottingham.
Located just a mile from the city centre, St Ann’s Allotments is one of the UK’s oldest and largest allotment sites, spanning 75 acres. The site is a Grade 2* English Heritage location and home to over 600 gardens used by local residents and community groups. STAA manages a number of community focused projects, offering opportunities for people to get involved, connect with nature, and support local wellbeing.
Steve joined two very different projects during his time volunteering:
Urban Nature - Wildlife & Conservation:
In his first session, Steve supported the Urban Nature project, which focuses on wildlife and environmental conservation. One of his main tasks was coppicing willow, a traditional woodland management technique. The harvested willow is dried and used for crafts and decorations during STAA’s community workshops. It was a hands-on and rewarding activity that blended heritage skills with creative community use.
Heritage Display Garden - Site development:
In the second session, Steve worked in the Heritage Display Garden, helping prepare the foundations for a new site section. He assisted with laying a sub-base and reusing old bricks found around the allotments. This work will help create a level surface for new sheds, blending restoration with sustainability.
Both sessions allowed Steve to get involved in meaningful projects and support an organisation that is making a real difference in the local community.
Social Value
At LHCPG, our commitment to social value is at the heart of what we do. We live our values by engaging our employees, allowing them to shape and deliver social value into the communities where they live or work on causes close to their hearts. Employees are given 1.5 days of leave to volunteer for a charity. We take pride in our collective efforts to support the community through our social value strategy. If you want to learn more about our social value initiatives, please contact our team for more information.
