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Green-fingered gardeners really make a difference nurturing nature in the community

Immediate release: 20 July 2009

Award-winning Fusion Contact Centre Services has notched up yet another challenge for the Business in the Community Cares programme in the North East – clearing up the Belmont allotments in County Durham.

Volunteers from the call centres in Sunderland and Peterlee, who won the North East Team of the Year Award at the Business in the Community's Awards for Excellence, have braved soaring temperatures in their latest challenge.

This time, eight volunteers from Sunderland and Peterlee took on the arduous challenge of preparing the allotment site for safe and secure educational visits from 660 local primary school children and teaching staff as part of the BBC's Breathing Places Programme in conjunction with the BIG Lottery Fund to help local communities blossom.

The volunteers laid bark chippings on all the main footpaths around the site, repainted the bird hide with wood preserver; sanded down and cleaned the wooden seat; weeded and tidied the sensory garden paths and beds; laid new white stone chippings around the plants on the main Mediterranean beds and built a brick edge around the north garden.

Tony Barrett led the project with Gavin Coates. He said: "We were four volunteers light on the day because of increased business demands. But everyone worked really hard. We divided up into two teams – the girls and the guys. It was an excellent day of teamwork and the camaraderie was evident throughout the day as everyone had a great time working very hard to complete the challenge."

Ron Potter, Development Officer for the Belmont Allotments Association, presented the volunteers with their Cares certificate and said: "They did a superb job. It was really good and it has enabled us to make the site safe for the schoolchildren to visit and see the good work we do here. All the tasks were completed to a very high standard indeed."

Claire Taylor, Community Impact Co-ordinator for BITC Cares said: "The Fusion volunteers made another massive impact with their latest Cares project especially with fewer volunteers than planned. It is a testament to Fusion that they can get such a great hard-working group of people together to help in the local community."

The other volunteers from Fusion were Peter Longworth, Graham Hull, Helen Morgan, Sophie Mullaney, Karen Williams and Louise McNally.

The green-fingered gardeners receiving the Cares certificate from Ron Potter at the Belmont Allotments after completing another successful challenge.

BBC television presenter Nicholas Owen presented the award to the winners at the Gala Dinner at the Hilton.