Corporate volunteering in action: Babcock employees help create amazing new spaces in our hospice grounds
21st May 2026
A team of thirty employees from Babcock in Bovington have swapped building tanks for creating exciting new spaces in Weldmar’s hospice gardens.
A different team of ten volunteers across three days have been turning the vision of the charity’s gardener, Andrea Legg, into reality. The improvements include creating a new area for children’s activities organised by the Patient and Family Support team, and taking measures to reduce flooding in the meadow in wet weather.
The gardens perform an important role at the hospice, providing an opportunity for patients and their loved ones to enjoy some beautiful, tranquil surroundings out of doors, and moments of peace and relaxation.
Andrea says the volunteers have achieved an extraordinary amount in the time they’ve been helping out: “They’ve done so much work, and the difference they’ve made is amazing! They have managed to clear an entire area on the edge of our meadow that was just overgrown brambles. They’ve then dug a long pit in that space so that when we get lots of rain in winter it will hopefully form a temporary wetland, which is a really important habitat. It will be much nicer to look at, as well as bringing in as much wildlife as possible.”
“They’ve also started working on another small wooded area, and creating an area for children who attend our eco themed events as part of their ongoing support. The team have created two lovely paths that lead up to the activity area. We’ve utilised the trees that we had to cut down due to ash dieback disease, creating chippings for the pathways, and logs to line the area. They also used this timber to put up posts around the wetland area.”
All of these improvements are part of Weldmar’s Biodiversity Net Gain following the construction of the new Outpatient Suite.
Paul Fitzgerald is Senior Craft Engineer at Babcock, and says he was keen to keep up what is now an annual Babcock tradition: “I got involved in a volunteering project here a few years ago, and now I organise it. We have people from across different sections of Babcock, some of whom have never worked together before so it’s a good team bonding exercise.
“We have got lots of skill sets at our place because we work on armored vehicles. They’re used to problem solving, and using their ingenuity to get jobs done quicker. One of our lads, Tony, even brought his own truck, wheelbarrows and lawnmower, so we could get more done in a short space of time.”
Paul says that employees were keen to put their hand up to help out a good cause: “Everyone’s got a history somewhere with Weldmar, and know what a great organisation it is. They really do look after friends and family too – I had a friend who was in the hospice recently. Being able to come and help and give something back means the world to us.”
Support Weldmar at your workplace
There are so many ways that you can support Weldmar at work, such as volunteering your time and skills as Babcock have done at our hospice.
You could also hold a fundraising event, make donations through payroll giving, or offering a gift in kind.
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Supporting Weldmar at your workplace
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