A social enterprise is offering Bristol firms the chance to take part in outdoors team-building days while also helping local communities and the environment thrive.
Bristol-based charity Your Park Bristol & Bath has launched the team days in response to the shift to hybrid working by many businesses, which has created a need for them to bring their employees together.
The charity is one of only five UK park foundations and the only one that can work in any public park in Bristol and Bath.
With the support of the Enterprise Development Programme, which funds social projects, and environmental charity Groundwork UK, Your Park Bristol & Bath is in a unique position to support the needs of companies when it comes to finding meaningful experiences, with activities ranging from tree care and maintenance to step building.
Businesses that have already taken part in the team days include EDF Energy, BAE Systems Maritime, engineering consultancy Atkins Global, Belmont Estate and the Environment Agency.
One team member from Atkins Global said: “My team and I really enjoyed our day. A fantastic host – friendly and knowledgeable about the task and the benefits to the local habitat. I would very much recommend as a team building event.”
Your Park Bristol and Bath CEO Charlee Bennett said urban parks were important for community wellbeing and for the planet.
“Our team days are a fantastic opportunity for corporate teams to get together, out in the fresh air and make a real difference locally,” she said.
“By being active, spending time with colleagues, getting into nature and giving back, everyone goes away feeling good.”
Participants said the team days boosted morale and created stronger working relationships, with:
- 88% saying they were able to connect with colleagues.
- 96% feeling their day had a positive effect on their wellbeing.
- 100% concluding they would book again.
Income from the team days support the charity-led social enterprise, with all profits into the community.
Founded in February 2019 as part of the national Rethinking Parks programme, Your Park Bristol & Bath (YPBB) was only the second parks foundation charity created in the UK.
It reimagines how local communities can benefit from and support their parks and green spaces by leading a range of park-based initiatives and activities to engage with under-represented groups and those that have experienced inequality.
These include older people, unpaid carers, people with a disability, children and young people and people living in the top 10% most deprived areas of Bristol and Bath & North East Somerset.
YPBB works closely with Bristol City Council and Bath & North East Somerset Council, which between them are responsible for the upkeep of the 2,500-plus hectares of local parks and green spaces, but operates completely independently in their parks.
