The sponsorship of Manx Wildlife Trust’s Cooildarry nature reserve by Manx Telecom will see staff helping out with work on the site.
The venture, being the first arrangement of its kind between the charity and local business, will see the phone company support the maintenance programme for the reserve, located just outside of Kirk Michael, and involve staff helping in the reserve.
Cooildarry is a seven-hectare area of woodland that was planted and predominantly used in Victorian times.
As well as many varieties of tree such as elm, ash, alder, sycamore and beech, it contains rhododendron and cherry laurel and has a display of flowers.
Work at the reserve includes the removal of some of the invasive species such as montbretia and controlling the rhododendron.
Manx Telecom staff volunteers will go on a ‘Wild Work Day’ later this month under the guidance of MWT conservation officer Tricia Sayle, with further events planned later in the year.
Manx Telecom chief executive Gary Lamb said the sponsorship was a way for Manx Telecom to meets its environmental goals as well as help MWT with its conservation work.
‘We should all cherish the natural beauty that we have on this island and be mindful of preserving it for generations to come,’ he said. ‘Manx Wildlife Trust staff and volunteers do a fabulous job in looking after the island’s varied fauna and flora, and in connecting people to nature. I am sure our work parties will gain a lot from the experience of helping at Cooildarry.’
MWT chief executive Leigh Morris added: ‘We are delighted to welcome Manx Telecom as the first-ever sponsor of one of our MWT nature reserves, which have always been, and will remain, the core of what Manx Wildlife Trust does.
‘Our nature reserves are precious places in the Isle of Man that we have secured for future generations, but they still need annual maintenance and this unseen, less showcased work, is harder for us to secure financial support for.’
Cooildarry is open to the public and can be accessed from opposite Glen Wyllin campsite.