For this year’s Summer Company Day, we wanted to do things a little differently. Rather than our usual venue, the whole Flotilla team gathered from our London, Manchester, and Harrogate offices for a day at Nell Bank, a charity based on a beautiful 25-acre site in Ilkley, set among the spectacular rolling hills of Yorkshire.
Nell Bank has been giving children the chance to connect with the outdoors since 1977. Every year, thousands of children visit the centre, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, for outdoor learning experiences that build confidence, curiosity, and a lasting respect for nature. It’s a mission we hold close to our own values at Flotilla, and one we were proud to spend the day supporting.
A warm welcome and a full tour
Dan Goodey and the team at Nell Bank kicked off the day with a full tour of the site. It’s one thing to hear about the work a charity does, and quite another to see it in person. Walking the grounds, it was immediately clear why Nell Bank means so much to the children who visit each year, giving them the chance to connect with nature, often for the first time, whatever their background or circumstances.
Two workshops, working alongside the Nell Bank team
Our CEO John Rastrick opened the working part of the day with a company update, before the team settled into the heart of the day: two workshops, working alongside the Nell Bank team.
- ESG & Carbon — bringing our own expertise to the table, we spent time with the Nell Bank team looking at practical ways the centre could reduce its carbon footprint.
- From Carbon Action to Corporate Partnership — we then turned to how that work could be supported more sustainably in future, exploring what a longer-term, meaningful partnership between Nell Bank and other businesses could look like.
It was a genuinely collaborative session, and a great example of how we like to work at Flotilla: bringing our skills and expertise to the table and using them in a way that can make a difference.
Getting stuck in
In between the workshops, we took part in some of the same activities and team challenges the children experience every day at Nell Bank. It’s a brilliant way to properly understand the impact of the work, rather than just hearing about it second hand. It also brought out a fair bit of healthy competition, turns out the Flotilla team is a lot more competitive than we thought.
Orienteering and a well-earned BBQ
We rounded off the day with a group orienteering challenge, putting the morning’s team spirit to good use, before settling in for a well-earned BBQ to close out the day together.
A day well spent
Days like this are a big part of what we value about working at Flotilla. Using our time, skills and energy to support work that matters, while spending time together as a team, made for a pretty memorable company day. A huge thank you to Dan Goodey and the whole team at Nell Bank for having us and for being so generous with their time.
If you’d like to learn more about Nell Bank and the different ways organisations can support its work, you can find out more at nellbank.org/fundraising.
Keep an eye out for a video with some brilliant snippets from the day, coming soon.
