Completed with the support of Unipart Rail
Dave Tilmouth on 07 August 2019 12:00:02
Tags:
Business News
Customer Engagement
Value - Corporate Social Responsibility
Chiltern Railways’ Aylesbury depot had an area of ‘wasteland’ with an overgrown and silted-up pond.
Depot Environmental Champion, Simon Roberts, established a project to improve the area to both encourage wildlife to return, and to provide an area where depot colleagues could take breaks away from the working environment in a calm and pleasant space. To achieve this vision Chiltern Railways provided the majority of the funding, and Simon was approaching suppliers for support in the transformation.
During a regular meeting with Unipart Rail, part of the agenda looks at Corporate Responsibility. This was the perfect opportunity for Unipart Rail to use its manufacturing capabilities, together with recycling cable drums which would otherwise have been converted into wood pellets for fuel generation, to create furniture that is both practical and has a link to the railway.
Apprentices at Unipart Rail’s Crewe site were tasked with designing and building the furniture to a high standard, and we also supplied a bird table, duck feeder, bird boxes and bird feed to the project, to help with the aim of attracting wildlife.
The garden is now a peaceful oasis with open space for the depot team to rest and enjoy the green space, and plenty of undergrowth and planting for wildlife. Newts, ducks, kingfishers and many types of garden bird are now in residence and the space is now an asset to the depot and local wildlife.
Simon Roberts, Chiltern Railways Aylesbury depot Environmental Champion said “What Unipart Rail has brought to us is amazing - we didn’t realise that they supported such projects, and the furniture they have supplied is superb. The wildlife equipment is fantastic - they compliment the other items we have and will attract more wildlife. The response from colleagues at the depot has been great. They are now enjoying the space with plenty of seating and tables for their break and lunch. Thank you to Unipart Rail for helping us make this happen.”