As part of the UK’s Student Volunteering Week, Coventry University and University of Warwick students undertook three volunteering projects at the weekend to help improve the lives of Coventry and Leamington residents.

Big Challenge 2012

Organised by CUSU Volunteering & Employability and Warwick Volunteers, the “Big Challenge” took place on Saturday 25 February 2012. Around 90 students and staff volunteers, from the two universities, took part.

Volunteers who were looking to work outdoors spent the day at Coombe Pool, one of Coventry’s Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), clearing part of the tree line around the fisheries. Other students keen to avoid the mud and risk of a downpour went to either Norton Grange Nursing Home or the SYDNI Centre, in Leamington, to paint murals for the residents. Those at the SYDNI Centre also made some raised flower beds for the neighbourhood centre.

Said one Coventry University volunteer, who worked at the Coombe project: “We got lucky with the weather – it was fantastic for doing something outdoors and, even though we only gave a day, you could tell we made a big difference. I’m really impressed by how much foliage we cleared and hopefully the anglers and birds at Coombe will appreciate our work and catch some nice, big bream between them.”