WHETHER it’s planting hundreds of thousands of trees or working as a street pastor – George Hammonds always has the community at the forefront of his mind.
By day, George is an assistant forestry manager at Severn Trent. He is part of the team planting over 300,000 trees across the region as part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Forests project.
And away from work the dad of two volunteers as a night-time street pastor – helping the lost or vulnerable in Worcester city centre to find their friends, or a safe way home.
He said: “I love my job at Severn Trent as being able to help the environment and work outdoors is all I ever wanted when I was growing up on a farm.
“Being a part-time street pastor is also hugely fulfilling. We help those who are lost meet up with their friends, or find them a taxi if they have had a little too much to drink.”
George began his career at Severn Trent in 2022, having previously worked as a park ranger for a local authority for more than 20 years.
His arrival coincided with the water company partnering in the Commonwealth Games Forest project – a bid to create 2,022 acres of new woodlands to offset the event’s carbon footprint.
George’s varied role includes identifying potential land for new woodlands, conducting condition surveys on the saplings, managing the new sites – and getting personally dug in by taking part in community planting events.
Each new forest planted features predominantly native UK-grown broadleaf species trees which, over time, will remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
George added: “The whole scheme is doing a huge amount of good for the environment. As well as helping reduce the Games’s carbon footprint, the woodlands boost biodiversity as well as improving water quality by holding it back from entering watercourses.
“There are so many benefits for the new woodlands, including for the public to eventually enjoy once they are established.”
As well as enjoying family time with wife Suzanne, their two children and family dog, George also finds time to be a street pastor once a month through his church, St Peter’s Baptist Church in Worcester.
