Ogier goes wild for education in Jersey

This article first appeared in Jersey Evening Post - Wednesday 20 November 2019

Ogier is passionate about giving back to its local communities.

The Jersey-headquartered firm, whose teams are located in seven international locations, encourages all of its employees to take paid time out of the office to support a local cause.

The focus of Ogier's global CSR programme is on education in all its forms – and the Ogier team firmly believes that the natural environment is a rich source of learning for people of all ages.

This commitment has seen Ogier support a diverse range of projects across 2019, including clearing bracken at Hamptonne Country Life Museum and cleaning out the pond at the Jersey Museum, supporting Jersey Trees For Life's maintenance work at Adelina Wood, and managing the children's play area at La Moye Primary School to provide for a forest school focus.

Ogier also recently supported the National Trust for Jersey in providing first-hand experience of Jersey's only remaining working watermill, Le Moulin de Quétivel, for more than 300 nine-year-olds in a week-long programme 'A Miller's Life', which brought subjects including history, geography and science to life for primary school pupils this autumn.

Starting at the Mill Pond in St Peter's Valley, the children saw the sluice gates being opened then tracked the water's path to the Mill, identifying plants in the Trust's woodland and watching the Manx Loagthan sheep grazing in the meadow on the way.

Arriving at Le Moulin de Quétivel the students met the Miller and his wife – brought to life by volunteers – to find out how the Mill mechanism works and see stoneground flour being used in a Victorian kitchen. A lesson in cogs and gears provided a practical design and technology activity.

Fitting in with this focus, some of the Ogier team recently volunteered at Jersey Zoo, preparing the ground for what will be a beautiful wild flower garden. The work is part of Durrell's wider strategy to "Rewild our world", creating more diverse, beautiful and resilient natural landscapes in which species and thrive and people can enjoy a deeper connection with nature.

Ogier's Director of Marketing Kate Kirk said: "As you can see, we aren't afraid to get our hands dirty and really get stuck into a project!

"We hope that our work in the local environment enables people to enjoy their surroundings and provides a space to learn valuable lessons outside the classroom."