Green fingered volunteers welcomed at St Giles Trust

Over 20 young volunteers from the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust gave the garden at St Giles Trust’s head office in Camberwell, south London, a revamp on Friday 6 August.

Braving typical British summer drizzle, the 14-19 year old youngsters set to work cleaning up the mezzanine area, planting cuttings and installing parasols on the picnic benches. They were helped by Olympian mentors Jenna Downing (British Freestyle skater), Adam Whitehead (Olympian swimmer) and Neil Danes (Skateboarder).

The day at St Giles Trust was part of a wider course for the young volunteers, aiming to introduce them to a professional working environment and increase teamworking and skills.  Many of them went on to do a few days work experience at St Giles Trust.

Karenate Inyang-Songhonron from the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust said: “The day appeared to have a calming and therapeutic effect on the young people.  They knuckled down and gelled together to work through any disputes that they had on their own. This is a tremendous shift from when the young people started at the beginning of the course, where their team building and communication skills weren’t quite there. I’m really proud that the young people have now begun to take on some responsibility and work as a team.”

Camden Garden Centre kindly donated over £100 worth of gardening equipment to St Giles Trust for the day.  The mezzanine garden at St Giles Trust is well used by staff, volunteers and training clients, offering a peaceful space in a busy urban area of south London. The work undertaken on the day supported St Giles Trust’s commitment to sustainability and staff wellbeing.  St Giles Trust Chief Executive Rob Owen said: “It looks fantastic. We really value the garden at St Giles Trust and I’m extremely grateful to the young volunteers who took the time to come and make it look so special. It will offer a haven for our staff who are doing extremely stressful jobs.”