The Novanta Technologies Team visit The Geranium Trust

"On the volunteering day, we got to meet new people and work together as a team towards a great outcome."

"It was wonderful to be out of the office for the day in the fresh air and surrounded by nature on the Quantock Hills"

Earlier this year, a team of volunteers from Novanta Technologies braved the cold to enjoy a day of tree planting at local charity, The Geranium Trust . The Novanta Technologies team was delighted to spend the day helping fellow volunteers from Able2Achieve , a charity which supports people with learning disabilities to develop their skills and confidence through learning, living and working. The Geranium Trust, a charity which offers support and friendship to people in their community, are currently planting 600 metres of new hedgerow to encourage local wildlife and this provided a wonderful project for the Novanta team to get involved in! Charlotte Fursdon, Operations Administrator at Novanta Technologies, told us about the day: “Our team went along to help plant trees, which involved a lot of digging, planting and lots of work pushing the wheelbarrow about! The team loved being outdoors and helping with such a worthwhile project. The group who organised it were from all backgrounds, and it was such a good chance to all muck in together.  “Aside from helping the community, the volunteering team day gave us such a sense of wellbeing, working together, team building and a good dose of reality. “It was such a wonderful experience, and everyone was welcoming and brilliant from the outset. I have forged strong links with other groups, so we are all able to work together on future projects. “We are very lucky to work for a company that encourages community volunteering and Spark a Change is now our go-to platform for organising future activities." Joe Knights, Able2achieve’s Learning Facilitator said: “With the help of the volunteers, we have been able to plant hundreds of trees hedges, which has helped speed up our timescales, and that’s fantastic. “Our project is aimed at our community, and it is a great morale boost to the project team when we receive interest and help from organisations, like Novanta. “By working alongside other groups of volunteers, we are also able to increase awareness of our work, learn about the work of others and create lasting relationships that will benefit everyone going forward. “We’d like to say a huge thankyou to the team from Novanta for being a fantastic tree planting workforce and helping our community and wildlife!” Terence Palfrey, Founder of the Geranium Trust said: "Volunteer team days are so valuable in helping The Geranium Trust to thrive. Volunteering is good for the charity that you are helping, but better still, it's really good for you and your team. You can make friends, learn new skills and it may lead you on to something that you never dreamed would ever happen."