Elbow grease in abundance on good day out

Trin McCarthy, Hayden Davis and Brigit Boon put their backs into it at Bushy Park. PHOTOS/ BEVAN CONLEY

BNZ staff swapped screens and calculators for shovels and spades on Thursday as offices around New Zealand Closed for Good.

The national day of charity work saw staff from BNZ Wanganui helped out at Bushy Park and Marie McFarland Kindergarten, among other projects.

PHOTOS/ BEVAN CONLEY

Nationwide nearly 4000 BNZ employees volunteered about 41,000 hours on more than 460 projects. It's been estimated by the BNZ the volunteer work is the equivalent of more than a million dollars to the communities around the country.

In Wanganui, 17 staff members took part in Closed for Good.

One of the volunteers, Hayden Davis, said they get two volunteer days a year and it's a good way of supporting local organisations "we might not otherwise know about".

"We enjoy getting out of the office and ripping into some projects."

At Bushy Park they helped clear bait lines to make it easier for those laying bait for pests to get through the bush, and replaced bait marker pads. They also put shell rock on paths to make them more usable and tidy. At the kindergarten they cleared the way for a new fence to be put up, removed some old playground equipment, tore up an old garden in preparation for grass being laid and did some painting.

Members of the crew also went to Kowhainui and Sommerset Care rest homes to talk about money scams and help residents keep their money safe from fraudsters.