4 days Ago
A veterinary practice team pulled bicycles, a scooter, and footballs from a park pond. The 14-strong team from Coastway Vets, part of VetPartners, volunteered for the clean-up in Queen's Park, Brighton, on March 22. They donned wellies, waders, and rubber gloves to remove the unusual items, along with a length of washing line.
The team of vets, veterinary nurses, and receptionists also used nets to scoop out large quantities of duckweed and cleaned the protection cages used to control plant life spread. Volunteers spend four hours improving habitat for local wildlife (Image: VetPartners) Coastway Vets has been serving Brighton's pets for over 50 years and regularly organises events and fundraisers to support the community. This year, the team is participating in various activities to support the Friends of Queen's Park, aiming to help wildlife thrive and improve the public space.
The practice has also donated 12 nesting boxes, now installed in trees around the park, to encourage birdlife. Coastway Vets veterinary nurse Jay Lisher, who came up with the idea for the pond clean, coordinated the team of volunteers. Park rangers praise vets for transformative clean-up work (Image: VetPartners) Mr Lisher said: "Our team members did an amazing job cleaning the pond and they thoroughly enjoyed getting stuck in.
"All their hard work will make a big difference to the ducks, geese, and other wildlife living on or around the pond and for local people who enjoy the space. "The park rangers were impressed with how much we managed to get done in four hours." He added: "We have developed a great relationship with the Friends of Queen’s Park and park ranger Lyndsay Cattanach, and we volunteered to do the pond clean because the park is an important space for the community and for many of our team members.
"It’s very close to our veterinary hospital in Kemptown, so a lot of our team members visit it regularly, and we also help run the Bark in the Park dog show which is being held in Queen’s Park in May." Coastway Vets supports several other local charities and community events each year. They are holding an Easter egg raffle in aid of Sompting Wildlife Rescue and, in addition to Bark in the Park, the team will be organising four other dog shows to benefit causes such as Brighton Pride and the RNLI.
Coastway Vets prides itself on offering the highest levels of care to pets at its 24-hour veterinary hospital in Kemptown and its branch surgeries in Lewes, Woodingdean, Telscombe, Portslade, and Shoreham, and an excellent service to clients. It is part of VetPartners, which owns some of the UK’s most respected and trusted veterinary practices and associated animal healthcare businesses..
