On Friday 18th May volunteers from our client Prologis and Whiting teamed up together to help restore Happyfields Animal Sanctuary.
Happyfields was founded 7 years ago by Christine Bowles and provides a home for both unwanted and rescue animals. The sanctuary relies heavily on sponsorship and donations and with our help it made the process easier and quicker to implement the final improvements they needed.
Love Brum is a charity that engages with local people and businesses to build a better Birmingham. Love Brum asked Prologis to support Happyfields on Impact Day. Whiting were happy to come on board and help Prologis with this challenge.
Our brief was to rebuild, install and improve existing new features at the sanctuary to make it a more pleasant and welcoming place for visitors and for the animals to live in.
Our Operations Director Wayne Bridges gave a detailed brief for the day, so everyone knew what they were doing in order to get everything completed. The weather was definitely on our side, it was a glorious day, the sun shining and everyone was keen and eager to get started.
Happyfields encompasses an overall area of 11,000m². Most of the area needed attention and works began with installing an 18m walk way leading up to a decked terraced picnic area, (which we needed to construct) and the entrance to visit the animals at Happyfields. Creating this pathway has made it more accessible for wheelchair users and pushchairs. A new shelter was put together to keep the animals safe and warm at night. Up to 230 linear meters of fencing was installed in various parts of the sanctuary fields ensuring that all the animals are now safe and secure, especially around the chicken coop and pond, to keep out any unwanted visitors! New gates were installed at the beginning of the new pathway and entrance leading into another field, helping to make the area more secure and safe for visitors and the residents of Happyfields!
Car parking was limited at the sanctuary; it was challenging and unsafe for visitors to park as it is located on such a busy main road. A fenced car park has now been created off the main road into Happyfields allowing easier access.
Finally, a new information and welcome sign were hand drawn, painted and installed by members of Prologis and Whiting. The public can now easily find the sanctuary, as it proved to be quite difficult to locate in the past.
The completed improvements have benefited Happyfields in many ways making it a more welcoming and pleasant place to visit. Founder Christine Bowles was overwhelmed and happy with the work that had been completed. She commented that she was…“Over the moon. It all looks amazing!”
Our Operations Director Wayne Bridges said ‘the end result was fantastic. The amount of effort and hard work that had gone into the day from each and every person was overwhelming. The appreciation from Chris was so touching it makes it all worthwhile’. The day was a great success!
