Well done to the staff at Park Inn Hotel Telford, who volunteered their time to take part in a project to help breathe new life into a community orchard.
The team joined forces with the Green Wood Centre to help manage a small orchard and  establish a sensory garden on a half acre site between Wellington Road and the A518 in Donnington.
They began work last Friday (September 24) on the first stage of a five-year plan to bring the area back to life, and help residents of the neighbouring care home, Barclay Gardens, as well as members of the wider community, to get more out of the green space.
The plan envisages using the orchard and garden for a wide number of community uses, including educational trips, apple-pressing sessions, and small events, as well as giving local people the chance to grow their own fruit.
The Green Wood Centre, which is based at Coalbrookdale, and is part of the national charity, Small Woods Association, was approached by Donnington Parish Council to help with the orchard and sensory garden project, as part of its Venture Out programme, funded by Telford and Wrekin health service.
The centre and the hotel are both members of the Green Tourism business scheme, which encourages companies to do as much as possible to protect and enhance their environment, and helped bring the two together.
“As a company, we take our social responsibilities very seriously, and had been looking for a project which our staff could get involved in, which would help make a lasting impression in the local community,” explained Adrian Pickard, general manager of the Park Inn Hotel.
As well as pruning the trees and clearing the ground, the team managed to collect 18 bags of apples during the day, which will be used at an apple pressing event at the Green Wood Centre.
“We thoroughly enjoyed the day, though we have all been aching since,” said Anne-Marie Bayliss, head housekeeper at the Park Inn, and the hotel’s responsible business co-ordinator.
“We made a good start on the project, which other voluntary teams will now come in and work on too, and we hope to keep involved and watch it progress over the coming months and years.”
Find out more about the hotel at www.thebestof.co.uk/local/telford-and-wrekin/business-guide/feature/park-inn-telford/82760