Following the success of our partnership in 2018, the Marble Arch London BID and the Royal Parks worked in collaboration again to host our rescheduled Great British Spring Clean 2020 event on 24 September.

Marble Arch’s Great British Spring Clean 2020 efforts have brought the community together as volunteers from The Hilton London Metropole, Galliford Try and McDonald’s spent the afternoon clearing soil for a new wildlife hedge which will be planted later this winter in Hyde Park.

The Great British Spring Clean is a nationwide campaign designed to bring people together to tidy and improve parks, pavements, riverbanks and beaches across Britain. This hedge is one of many fantastic Royal Park initiatives designed to support the diverse ecosystems that live within Hyde Park.

Volunteer safety is always our top priority and we and the Royal Parks worked hard to ensure this activity was COVID-19 secure. Volunteers spent the afternoon working in small groups of 3-4 participants and were instructed to arrive at staggered intervals. Each volunteer was given an individual bottle of hand sanitiser and allocated their own pieces of equipment which were cleaned before and after being used. Participants had access to masks and gloves and a safe PPE disposal unit was set up.

After receiving a through briefing, each team worked tirelessly at their specific workstations for two hours, using spades and forks to collectively clear and prepare a 0.5m x 100m hedge bed. Each team finished the day with a socially distanced photo evidencing their contribution. Come November, the Royal Parks will be using the prepared bed to plant a combination of Hawthorne, Buckthorn and Field Maple saplings which will provide nourishment and shelter for insects, birds and small mammals. Do visit the Victoria Gate entrance of Hyde Park early next year to see the fruit of our volunteers efforts.

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to our volunteers and the Royal Parks for such a wonderful afternoon. If you feel inspired and would like to get your colleagues involved supporting local green spaces, do get in touch with our community team.

"A huge thank you to all the volunteers, who have taken the important first step in creating a feature that will benefit the park for years to come"

Rachel Dowse, Volunteer Officer, Royal Parks