BARCLAYS Corporate senior managers took the term ‘mucking in’ to the extreme today as a team of them volunteered for building work on the Exeter Urban Garden.

They had travelled to the Garden’s designated site on Exeter College’s Hele Road campus from as far away as Wales and the Midlands to take part in the exercise, which saw them being encouraged to work together, share initiative, and put their project management skills to practical use in aid of a good cause.

Ray O’Donoghue, Barclays Corporate Managing Director for the Midlands, Wales and South West, was among those laying the foundations for a fence and four raised vegetable beds which he and his peers were hoping to complete by the end of the day.

Spade in hand, he said: “We have come from as far away as Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, Worcestershire, and Swansea to help with this project this afternoon. Normally, at this time of day, we would be supporting our teams, but at Barclays Corporate we do like to engage in quite a lot of projects in the community and we encourage our staff to get involved as much as they can too.

“Having heard a presentation from the College about this particular project, we offered to help out, and today we are working on building raised beds and levelling out the ground around them, which will help make sure the garden will have disabled access and can be enjoyed by everyone.”

Ray continued: “On a second visit, local staff from here in Exeter will be coming down to help out. We felt that if our staff were going to do it, then we as the leadership should also be getting stuck in, which is why we are here today.

“We couldn’t have picked a nicer day to be outside, and we are enjoying working in the community,” he added. “From our perspective, the Exeter Urban Garden is a local project and it is one that is going to benefit a lot of people in the community in the long-term.”

As well as the raised plant beds, a greenhouse, a tool shed and a wormery are all part of the design for the garden, which is expected to officially open in May this year. Other features will include a seating area, a grill, a pond and an eco-friendly watering system which will use rainwater collected from the roofs of surrounding buildings.

Exeter Urban Garden Project Manager Geoff Brown said: “For the volunteers, I think it has been a useful teambuilding exercise. They clearly enjoy each other’s company and are tackling the heavy labour with a great sense of humour.

“In addition to building the beds in the garden today, Barclays Corporate helped finance them and are also funding and building the garden’s fencing along New North Road. Here at Exeter College, we are hugely grateful for their support. We hope that they have found today’s experience as rewarding as no doubt the Exeter Urban Garden’s users will do once it is complete.”