Posted24.04.23
Zurich volunteering day gets a green thumbs up from us!
Last week we welcomed a team of volunteers from Zurich Insurance to Eva House, our Mental Health Step Down service in Croydon. Their mission was to transform Eva’s garden, and they certainly succeeded!
The day began with teas, coffees, and an introduction to our service and its work. From there, our amazing volunteers swung into action, barely stopping until the sun started coming down that evening.
First up, one group laid a new woodchip path, to replace some of the worn out grass and give people more space to walk. While that was going on, others began reshaping our flowerbeds to give us more space for planting. They also chopped down overgrown and browning hedges to made the area feel more open. Next, everyone came together to build some new raised beds, in which our customers will be able to grow herbs and vegetables.
After a quick lunch the fencing was brushed and cleaned. It was then painted a lovely light green, chosen to brighten up the space and compliment the flowers which were then planted after that. Everything chosen for the flower beds was done so with the aim of creating a relaxing color palette – our first psychologically informed garden design!
Once the fence was done the volunteers also painted the benches, with the help of some of our customers who came out to join us. Once they had done that, the transformation was complete.
We would like to say a huge thank you to the brilliant Zurich team for all of their hard work throughout the day. The project never would have happened so quickly or beautifully without them, and we have already had lovely feedback from our customers about the difference that the changes have made.
If you or your company would be interested in volunteering with us, please do get in touch. We are always on the lookout for partners who can donate time and expertise in support of our work. You can find out more about how we work with partners here, or email naomi.langan@evolvehousing.org.uk.
