A 14-strong team of vets, veterinary nurses and receptionists from Coastway Vets, which is part of veterinary group VetPartners, donned wellies, waders and rubber gloves to volunteer for the clean-up in Queen’s Park on 22nd March.
They also used nets to scoop out large quantities of duckweed and cleaned the protection cages which are used to help prevent the over-spread of plant life.
Coastway Vets has been looking after pets in Brighton for over half a century and the team enjoys organising regular events and raising funds to help the community it serves.
Its team is taking part in a number of activities this year to support the Friends of Queen’s Park, to help wildlife flourish in the park and to help protect and improve a public space that’s important to local people, including Coastway Vets team members.
The practice has also donated 12 nesting boxes that have been installed in trees around the park to encourage a variety of birdlife to move in.
Coastway Vets veterinary nurse Jay Lisher came up with the idea for the pond clean and co-ordinated the team of volunteers.
Jay said: “Our team members did an amazing job cleaning the pond and they thoroughly enjoyed getting stuck in. All their hard work will make a big difference to the ducks, geese and other wildlife living on or around the pond and for local people who enjoy the space. The park rangers were impressed with how much we managed to get done in four hours.
“We have developed a great relationship with the Friends of Queen’s Park and park ranger Lyndsay Cattanach, and we volunteered to do the pond clean because the park is an important space for the community and for many of our team members. It’s very close to our veterinary hospital in Kemptown, so a lot of our team members visit it regularly, and we also help run the Bark in the Park dog show which is being held in Queen’s Park in May.”
Coastway Vets also supports a number of other local charities and community events each year. It’s holding an Easter egg raffle in aid of Sompting Wildlife Rescue and, in addition to Bark in the Park, the team will be organising four other dog shows to benefit good causes such as Brighton Pride and the RNLI.
Coastway Vets prides itself on offering the highest levels of care to pets at its 24-hour veterinary hospital In Kemptown and its branch surgeries in Lewes, Woodingdean, Telscombe, Portslade and Shoreham, and an excellent service to clients. It is part of VetPartners, which owns some of the UK’s most respected and trusted veterinary practices and associated animal healthcare businesses.