Acts of kindness, exotic animals and community spirit – a Thread.
This week a healthy Hornbeam tree was cut down in a deliberate act of vandalism in a Southampton cemetery. We were touched by the level of support on social media and have passed on intel to the police (1/12)
This week a healthy Hornbeam tree was cut down in a deliberate act of vandalism in a Southampton cemetery. We were touched by the level of support on social media and have passed on intel to the police (1/12)
The story doesn’t end there however. After seeing our post, @MarwellWildlife got in touch about the tree… It turns out Hornbeam is a favourite food of their Okapi. They made the generous offer to pick up the felled tree and put it to good use in feeding their animals. (2/12)
The Okapi will share the tree with their taller friends the Giraffes. A huge thanks to @MarwellWildlife for this act of kindness. (3/12)
A second act of kindness came soon after as a New Forest craftsman offered to create a beautiful piece of furniture from the trunk. We are in discussion about a bench that could sit in the area where the tree once stood. 👏👏🌳 (4/12)
We learned a few things from this event. The first is how much we all value our environment. Our Green City Plan details our commitment to replacing trees on a 1:2 basis and we’ve set a target of planting 5,000 native trees on council land by 2030: southampton.gov.uk/greencity (5/12)
We will replace this magnificent tree with two suitable alternatives in the planting season in October and our team are already reviewing suitable locations in the city. 🌳🌳(6/11)
Second, we’ve learned that an Okapi is an artiodactyl mammal (thanks Wikipedia) that looks like a strange mix between a Zebra, a Tapir and a Giraffe. (7/12)
The final, and maybe the most important lesson this #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, is that Kindness Matters. And we are using this week to show that, despite a terrible act such as this, acts of kindness in the community will always come to the fore. (8/12)
This is so important right now while we work together to beat coronavirus. The response to this sad event has shown the huge amount of good will and community spirit in Southampton. This has got us through difficult times in the past and is doing so again now (9/12)
The acts of kindness have been a big boost to key workers in our Bereavement Services team who have been #UnsungHeroes of the response to this pandemic, continuing and adapting their work to support people through very difficult times (10/12)
You can find out more about accessing help and support if you are struggling in isolation on our dedicated web page: southampton.gov.uk/coronavirus (11/12)
For top tips on looking after your mental and physical health during lockdown watch our '9 tips for lockdown' video: (12/12)
