A team of volunteers from Nedbank Private Wealth, a long-standing Corporate member and supporter of the Manx Wildlife Trust, recently gave up part of their busy weekends to help the local nature conservation charity clear gorse at its nature reserve at Glen Dhoo in Ballaugh.

Glen Dhoo is situated in a remote valley approached by a Greenway Road at the head of Ballaugh Glen and was home to a small farming community until the end of the 19th century. The nature reserve supports a range of valuable habitats for species such as heath and common spotted-orchid, hen harriers, peregrines, stonechats and linnets. The Trust has been working hard at this site to try and reduce the amount of gorse and recreate open grassland. The Manx Wildlife Trust’s Reserves Officer, Tricia Sayle said: “I am always very impressed with how Nedbank Private Wealth staff really get stuck in to a job, no matter how physically demanding. They all worked very hard and had cleared a significant area by the end of the day.” Thanks are also extended to regular volunteers Alan Jones and Peter Shimmin who gave up their Saturday to supervise and encourage the Nedbank staff.

As well as providing the team of hardworking and enthusiastic volunteers for the project, the bank has also very kindly assisted with the cost of a new gate for the site which will be hung in the next few weeks. Janet Taylor, Senior Executive to the Managing Director at Nedbank Private Wealth, said, “"It was great to return to the Glen Dhoo Reserve to see the trees growing that the Nedbank Private Wealth staff planted last year. This years' task of removing the gorse was equally demanding but very rewarding to stand back at the end of the day and see the progress made. I would like to thank the Manx Wildlife Trust staff and regular volunteers for showing us the ropes and also providing some great baked spuds to keep us going for the afternoon."

The Manx Wildlife Trust would like to thank Nedbank Private Wealth for their support and is looking forward to working with the bank on similar projects in the future.

For more information about the work of the Manx Wildlife Trust or to find out about its popular Corporate membership schemes, which help the Trust to further its aim of protecting Manx wildlife for the future, please visit the charity’s website www.manxwt.org.uk. 

Photo - the team of volunteers from Nedbank Private Wealth: (L-R) Janet Taylor, Nikkie Downe, Melissa Hudson, Kristine Corr, Jamie Laing, Sarah Robinson, Patrick Healey, Lynn Kelly and Martin Ibanez.