NI Water volunteers help restore Belfast’s Black Mountain

NI Water volunteers have joined the National Trust to help protect and restore the local environment on the slopes of Belfast’s Black Mountain.

The team spent a volunteering day at Robin’s Well, where they removed invasive plant species, planted new hedging and carried out a litter pick.

The work formed part of NI Water’s long-running Cares Challenge volunteering programme and supported conservation work being carried out by the National Trust at the site.

NI Water volunteers tackle conservation work at Black Mountain

Volunteers from across NI Water took part in the project at Robin’s Well, a remote location overlooking Belfast.

Their work included removing invasive plants to help protect the local ecosystem, alongside planting hedging and clearing litter from the area.

Fiachra Tierney, a Cares Challenge volunteer with NI Water, described the work as physically demanding but rewarding.

He said the project gave staff from different parts of the organisation an opportunity to work together while supporting the National Trust’s conservation work.

Tierney said it was particularly satisfying to see how much the group had achieved by the end of the day.

More than 13,000 volunteering hours contributed

NI Water’s Cares Challenge project has been running for more than a decade and is described by the organisation as one of Northern Ireland’s largest corporate volunteering schemes.

More than 1,850 NI Water employees have participated in over 130 challenges since the programme began.

Together, they have contributed more than 13,000 hours of volunteering to community organisations and projects across Northern Ireland.

Activities are organised in partnership with Business in the Community’s NI Cares Programme, which identifies charities and community organisations requiring practical assistance.

Previous projects have included gardening, painting, maintenance, environmental work and fundraising.

Volunteering supports staff wellbeing

NI Water’s Director of People and Learning, Rose Kelly, said the programme provides additional support to organisations seeking to improve facilities and services for their communities.

She added that volunteering had also become an important part of NI Water’s approach to staff health and wellbeing.

As well as supporting community organisations, Kelly said the projects allow employees who may not normally work together to meet and spend time with colleagues from across the organisation.

The National Trust is carrying out wider conservation work around Divis and the Black Mountain, including habitat restoration at Robin’s Well.