Biodiversity Duty Case Studies: Scottish Water Volunteering Programme

Our Vision - Trusted to care for the water on which Scotland depends Scottish Water’s Volunteering Programme was launched in spring 2011 and allows us to support our communities and our Vision.

It offers opportunities to develop skills, invest in employee well-being, increase engagement levels and encourage teamwork.

We aim to build trust with our customers and their communities and leave a legacy which in turn impacts on our reputation and helps us to achieve our Vision. One of the areas we support is environmental conservation, including beach cleaning, or maintenance of Scotland’s parks, forests and green spaces. Other volunteering areas are education, local community, skills/knowledge and fund raising for Wateraid.

• All Scottish Water employees are eligible to take part in the volunteering programme which allows staff 2 days paid leave per year to get involved.

• In 2013/14, Scottish Water employees contributed almost 12,000 working hours for the benefit of charitable, environmental or community work across Scotland.

Who benefits from Scottish Water’s staff volunteeri ng?

Our volunteering work allows us to work with a large number of community stakeholders, including environmental groups, and provides opportunities for our employees to get involved in making a difference.

Volunteering helps us develop our skills or knowledge and can create a greater sense of well-being. It encourages us to communicate and engage with others and adopt a greater sense of teamwork. It allows us to have first-hand experience of working with the 3rd sector and seeing the challenges they may face on a day to day basis

The links we have with our stakeholder groups allows us to meet, talk, help others and share experiences with others. This in turn helps us get involved in our communities and increase our reputation.

Biodiversity Duty Case Studies: Scottish Water Volunteering Programme

The benefits of volunteering for Scottish Water employees:

• It helps staff improve confidence and skills they may have already such as communication or problem solving and put these skills into practical use.

• Enables staff to make a real and valuable difference and have a positive effect on our communities and society in general. This can make volunteers feel part of something outside of their circle of family and friends.

• Discover hidden talents. • Enables staff to leave their usual role, go into a different environment with

different tasks and challenges, an opportunity to learn and grow. • Offers staff the opportunity to try something new or challenging and feel a real

sense of achievement when they look at the difference they have made at the end of the day.

• Staff meet different kinds of people and have the opportunity to find out about some of the challenges faced by charities and non-profit making organisations.

• Have fun while making a practical difference!

Volunteering at Dean Castle Country Park, Kilmarnock: 11 Scottish Water staff spent the day with countryside rangers and carried out work to fill lay down compost followed by planting to help improve butterfly beds. This will increase biodiversity in of the park and to allow the area to be used for education. The public and school children will be able to get closer to wildlife and it will also showcase the plants that can be introduced to gardens to help bees and butterflies. The volunteers also planted several dozen trees which will provide habitat and shelter for wildlife, including birds, squirrels and insects. The trees will also improve the air quality, as well as providing shade from the sun and shelter from the wind. After the event volunteers were invited to join in a guided tour of the castle to discover historical connections to Robert the Bruce. Photographs taken of the events are Scottish Water’s. The photo shows tree planting by Scottish Water Volunteers. Please see overleaf for photographs and more case studies.

Biodiversity Duty Case Studies: Scottish Water Volunteering Programme

Scottish Water staff volunteering at Dean Castle Country Park. Beach Cleans: Beach cleans are a popular part of Scottish Water’s volunteering programme. Many beaches suffer from litter which can endanger birds and other wildlife. Animals can become entangled in plastic that is used to keep drinks’ cans together. They can also swallow plastic such as balloons, mistaking it for food. You can find out more about the problem on the Marine Conservation Society’s website. In 2013/14, 47 Scottish Water employees carried out 6 beach cleans, picking up and removing litter from the shoreline. In some cases, they also carried out a beach litter survey to help inform the Marine Conservation Society of possible sources of litter.

Biodiversity Duty Case Studies: Scottish Water Volunteering Programme

Scottish Water staff volunteering on a beach clean. Resources: Scottish Water Sustainability Report 2014: http://www.scottishwater.co.uk/assets/about%20us/images/corporate%20responsibility/sustainabilityreport2014.pdf Find out more about the problem with plastics through the Marine Conservation Society’s website: https://www.mcsuk.org/what_we_do/Clean+seas+and+beaches/Pollution+and+litter+problems/Plastics Contact: Doreen Bell Environmental Science & Regulation Analyst Scottish Water Email: Doreen.Bell@scottishwater.co.uk