ANTs bank on Lloyds interest

Crewe volunteer group the Queens Park ANTs (Actions Not Talk) received a huge boost during their latest action weekend when staff from Lloyds Bank lent a hand.

The park has already benefited from a number of initiatives led by the volunteers, and the final weekend of September saw them concentrate efforts clearing Coronation Walk.

 

Over the next six months they hope to restore the old rockery area, introduce new planting and eventually reinstate the water feature that runs through the park to the lake.

ANTs coordinator Leanne Haythornthwaite was delighted to see the group’s numbers increase. “We saw a lot of new faces over the weekend, and having a national company involved is great news,” she said. “Most of the staff at the Crewe branch of Lloyds lives locally, so the park means a lot to them too. Having passionate local people working hard to make a difference is what our group is all about.”

The Lloyds Banking Group runs a scheme called “Day to make a difference” where colleagues can volunteer their own time to a project of their choice.

“It’s a way to really get involved with the local communities,” explained Lloyds Project Manager Mark Ball. “A lot of large organisations make donations and sponsor events, but Lloyds are determined to make a real difference by helping charities and community organisations like the ANTs.”

Crewe branch manager Louise Harding is proud to be part of the initiative. “The bank has a national target of giving one million voluntary hours by the end of 2015. It’s important to the Crewe team that we play our part, so I’m sure we’ll be joining the ANTs many times over the next couple of years.”

The next ANTs volunteer action days at the park are scheduled for Saturday 26th October and Sunday 1st December.

The problem this time of year as Autumn set in is that it needs cleaning weekly as leaves fall the Gulf War area and down by the boat house main path is bad again as the leave make a mess this is only a few weeks since it was cleaned 

Winter is on the way as the trees in the park start to change colour and this year its early as it was mid October last year. There are a lot of acorns on the trees which may be a sign of a bad winter. We do get some great colours from the trees and they vary week by week