VOLUNTEERS from many different countries and backgrounds came together to help the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust (YDMT) plant 700 young saplings to create a new area of woodland near Settle.
Staff from global service provider Serco’s COMPASS Contract, involved in the provision of housing and transport for asylum seekers in Lancashire, left their office in Warrington for a day to help plant native species including oak, holly, hawthorn, bird cherry and crab apple.
They were joined by refugees from Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, Ethiopia and Nigeria who are currently service users of the Darwen Asylum Seekers and Refugee Enterprise (DARE) which provides free English lessons and advice on finding employment.
More than 500 people have benefitted from the long-standing partnership between DARE and Clapham-based YDMT, including Habib Muhamed from Somalia, who said: “I am happy to be out today – normally I am always inside at home. It is good to be doing something. I am so happy to be helping the environment by planting the trees.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here