Youths tackle Bishops Park pond life

a massive thank you, help the environment, tools in hand,

Thursday, 29 June 2017

A small group of volunteers from the Hammersmith Victory Youth Group (VYG), got kitted out in wellies and waders recently, and with tools in hand set to work on the pond in Bishops Park, Putney.

The challenge was to remove invasive algae and duckweed to ensure that the pond remains a healthy habitat for a variety of plant, fish and bird species. The problem is that the nutrient content of the water encourages unwanted growth.

They clearly succeeded. Gerald McEnery, volunteer manager at idverde, the company which provides green maintenance services at the park said: “We just calculated that you cleared roughly 120 to 150 square metres of pond and  collected about two tons of green waste material. That was actually fantastic, especially for such a small group, so a massive thank you from all of us.”

The youngsters were there as part of the We Care! – Youth Engagement event, an annual outreach project organised by the UCKG HelpCentre. The aim of the event is to enable the VYG members to get involved in various projects within their local communities in whatever way is possible.

Judging by their comments, the volunteers also found the day great fun. Celia Okoli from Hammersmith said: “I really enjoyed cleaning the pond today because it was nice to help the environment and to see the way that we had improved it.”

University Student Diana Barros-Pina from Roehampton added: It was really funny and we enjoyed ourselves, Gerald was so nice and had a lot of patience with us. It’s really rewarding to contribute to the community and get our charity, the UCKG HelpCentre’s name out there at the same time, I support that fully.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Photo: left to right; Gerald McEnery, Shanice Pena Avelino, Charlene Byran, Celia Okoli and Monique Craibe.

UCKG is a Christian church and registered charity that offers a range of practical support activities alongside spiritual support and comfort. It reached the UK in 1995 and has gone from strength to strength, providing support and spreading the Christian faith through its branches in England and Wales.

VYG is the youth arm of the UCKG HelpCentre, and works to help young people develop their full potential. VYG started in the UK in 1996 and has been growing steadily ever since. Over 1,300 young people attend VYG meetings every week, sharing sessions that include practical teaching, fun and spiritual development.

For further information please contact the UCKG HelpCentre Press Officer via e-mail on press@uckg.org or direct line 020 7686 6033, or call the PR consultant on 07867 510909.