Balfour Beatty Volunteer Day at Watchtree Nature Reserve

The annual Balfour Beatty Volunteer Day took place at Watchtree Nature Reserve near Wigton, in memory of former Balfour Beatty employee Grant Taylor, who died in 2022 at the age of 22.

Mr Taylor had played a key role in establishing the company’s charitable support for the reserve, and the event now stands as a lasting tribute to his vision and commitment.

Volunteers wore high-visibility clothing bearing the GT22 logo in his honour as they took part in a range of improvement projects across the 205-acre site.

Ryan Dobson, manager of Watchtree Nature Reserve, said: "Every year, Balfour Beatty Volunteer Day delivers a massive boost to our ongoing site maintenance and accessibility plans.

"The sheer amount of work achieved in a single day, from path resurfacing to deep cleaning our education spaces, would take our small internal volunteer team weeks to accomplish alone.

"We are incredibly grateful to the Balfour Beatty team and their partners for their continued dedication to Grant’s memory and to keeping Watchtree inclusive for everyone."

One of the day’s main projects involved resurfacing sections of the reserve’s zig-zag path to improve access for wheelchairs, mobility aids, and pushchairs.

Volunteers resurface the zig-zag path. (Image: Watchtree Nature Reserve)

Volunteers cleared vegetation and loose stones before laying a new top layer of dust and fines, using both heavy machinery and manual tools to complete the job.

Elsewhere on the site, teams used pressure-washing equipment to deep-clean storage containers ahead of repainting, while repairs were carried out on decking and the mud kitchen in the Education Zone.

Environmental management work also took place in Pond Wood, where volunteers removed plastic tree tubes from established trees.

The tubes were collected, bagged, and prepared for recycling.

A creative team repaired and repainted seasonal decorations and built spooky characters from salvaged timber and recycled paint.

Some of the seasonal decorations, made from salvaged wood. (Image: Watchtree Nature Reserve)

These handmade displays will be used for Watchtree’s upcoming free Halloween trail.

After the morning’s work, volunteers and staff gathered at Howdens Hut for a barbecue lunch, where they shared memories of Mr Taylor and reflected on the day’s achievements.

Painting some of the Halloween decorations. (Image: Watchtree Nature Reserve)

Rachael Dodgson, project engineer at Balfour Beatty, said: "This annual volunteering day is a special opportunity to come together with our supply chain partners to make a lasting difference at Watchtree Nature Reserve while honouring the memory of our colleague Grant Taylor, whose passion and commitment helped establish our relationship with the reserve.

"The work completed reflects the collective efforts of everyone involved and the positive legacy Grant continues to leave behind."

He said: "We are incredibly grateful to the Balfour Beatty team and their partners for their continued dedication to Grant’s memory and to keeping Watchtree inclusive for everyone."

The reserve extended its thanks to GAP Group, Sunbelt Rentals, Heidelberg Materials UK, National Highways, WSP, SP Electricity North West, Kier Group, UES, and Careys, as well as all individual volunteers who donated equipment, materials, and time to make the day a success.