Growth Team

The Surrey Choices award winning Growth Teams offer work experience in gardening, countryside management and horticulture.

You will learn valuable skills in a practical setting such as:

Sowing and Growing
Learning how to maintain plants and trees
Using commercial gardening equipment
Countryside management
Using equipment safely
Working as a team
Community engagement
How to plan a day at work

Helping Maintain The Surrey Countryside

The Growth Teams work across Surrey with local businesses, community groups and residents. They help maintain the Surrey countryside and public spaces including managing local community areas across the county. We are always looking for new projects for our Growth Teams to get involved with. So, if you have any work please do get in touch.

Our teams also help improve these sites for wildlife by planting hedgerows, building and erecting bird and bat boxes and plants for reptiles and amphibians. They have worked alongside Tice’s Meadow and Surrey Hills Trust to maintain hospitable habitats.

The Growth Teams work across Surrey with bases in Woking, Camberley, Redhill and Laleham.

Support And Improve Your Confidence

The Growth Teams are part of the Surrey Choices Vocational Projects. They can support you to improve your confidence, gain independence, and learn new skills to prepare you for the world of work.

The Vocational Projects work in partnership with our award-winning EmployAbility Team who are specialists in helping people move into volunteering, work experience or paid work in their local community.

Testimonials

Colin

Through determination, dedication, and demonstration of a fantastic work ethic, Colin secured a job working on the fabulous Hampton Estate.

Colin has used his time with the Growth Team wisely. He has taken the opportunity to work on, and enhance, his organisational and leadership skills. He now very much leads a new Learning and Development Team.

One of the sites that the Growth Team work at in the Surrey Hills, is the Hampton Estate. This is a very large estate that does a wide variety of Countryside Management including cattle growing hops for beer as well as conservation work.

The Estate Manager was very impressed with Colin and offered him work, initially short term to help prepare the hops for the next season. However, he has continued to employ Colin for other work. Colin works at the Hampton Estate for two days per week and thoroughly enjoys it.

Luke

Luke was a member of the Growth Team for over five years. As a team, they undertook different jobs from countryside management to clearing pathways for the general public.

During his time as a customer Luke developed his confidence, teamwork, and leadership skills. He now knows how to use all the machinery safely.

A vacancy for a Bank member of staff at the Growth Team came up and Luke thought he would be perfect fit for the role after gaining plenty of experience. Luke has transitioned from someone being supported by Surrey Choices to earning paid employment from Surrey Choices and supporting other people.

“Luke has transitioned perfectly. He is perfect for this role and is doing so well in all aspects of his role. He is a joy to work with” Lydia Simpson, Vocational Projects Development Manager