Member Article

Galliford Try helps jungle hopefuls beat the litter bugs

A litter pick in Amble organised by a group of Army Cadets has raised funds that will help to take two of them jungle training in Brunei.

The two week trip in July will see Catherine Phillips, 17 from Warkworth and Josh Truman, 17, from Ellington – who are members of Broomhill Detachment, Northumbria Army Cadet Force – stay in the tropical forest and undergo survival and acclimatisation training, as well as taking part in a jungle exercise.

Responsible for generating part of the money for the trip, with the help of other members from their company, Catherine and Josh have been organising and managing a number of fund raising activities.

The tidy up around Dandsfield Square has secured them a further £250 donation from construction company Galliford Try Partnerships North (GTPN), which is building close by.

“I thought a sponsored litter pick would be a good idea as we would be able to do something for the community whilst raising money for the trip,” said Catherine: “I contacted Galliford Try and suggested the idea and they agreed to donate some money to the fund and to provide us with the equipment we would need for the clean-up.”

And it is not just litter bugs that Catherine has had to contend with on her road to the jungle, having already met and handled a selection of the creepy crawlies that she may encounter out in the wild.

Continued Catherine: “The insects didn’t bother me particularly, but I wasn’t too keen on the snakes! I’m really looking forward to what will be an exciting adventure – Brunei isn’t a place that many people get the chance to visit and it will be great to experience a different culture as well as learning new skills through the training.”

The trip has been organised by Commandant of Northumbria Army Cadets, David Middleton and will see 20 young people from detachments across the county make the journey to East Asia.

Stephen McCoy, Managing Director at GTPN said: “We like to support and work with the community in the areas in which we are building. Helping Catherine and the Army Cadets with a donation towards the life changing trip as well as supplying the tools they needed to make a positive impact on the local landscape provided the ideal opportunity.”

GTPN is working in partnership with Homes for Northumberland and Northumberland County Council to deliver 48 new houses, bungalows and apartments on disused land next to Dandsfield Square in Amble. Work on the properties – to be managed by Homes for Northumberland – is expected to be completed by spring 2015.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paul Dobbie .