Team volunteer to create willow hurdles for heritage trust

Colleagues gave up their time to volunteer at the Clophill Heritage Trust where they spent a day weaving lengths of hazel wood into willow hurdles for the charity’s eco lodge project.

The 12 employees managed to complete six hurdles for the charity over the course of the day, which will now be positioned on the front of the lodges.

Clophill Heritage Trust is a community charity that works to preserve the local heritage and countryside. Their creation of an educational facility along the Greensand Ridge has transformed a derelict site that suffered with antisocial behaviour into a popular asset featuring residential lodges and a community area. Lockheed Martin director Dave Sparrow, who attended the volunteering day, said: “This was a great opportunity to help out a very worthwhile local community project.

“Clophill Heritage Trust has created a unique and innovative site that really inspires people to develop a passion for the great outdoors. By educating people about the landscape, heritage and nature of an area they are not only helping take care of the countryside now and in the future but also increasing people’s skills and confidence. It’s a project we were only too happy to support.

“The hurdles were a challenge but the team worked hard to complete them and it was great to stand back at the end and see the results. It certainly made me appreciate how time consuming the activity is and how much local organisations like this rely on volunteers for help.

“I’m really proud of our employees. They gave up their own free time to help out a really valuable local project.”

It is the second time the Lockheed Martin employees have volunteered at Clophill.

Ali Bradbury, chief operating officer at the Clophill Heritage Trust, said: “We were really pleased to welcome back an even bigger team from Lockheed Martin this year to help us complete the willow hurdles for the tourism and educational facility.

“They all worked really hard, not only to finish a good number of hurdles, but also to finish them to such a high standard.

“We could not have got this far without local help like this.”

Employees at Lockheed Martin UK’s Ampthill site regularly support community projects and local good causes, through fundraising and volunteering events. Recent events include path clearance for Ridgeway School in Kempston, creating raised flower beds for Leonard Cheshire care home, and fundraising in support of Sport Relief.