Foundry Wood in Leamington to throw ‘thank you’ BBQ for kind donors

A previous community event held at Foundry Wood in Leamington.

The Friends of Foundry Wood are so pleased with the response to their appeal following the incident at the wood in Leamington last month, that they are inviting anyone who wishes to come to a celebration ‘bring and share’ barbecue next weekend.

Kristie Naimo of the Friends group said: “We’ve raised over £1,000 online and Arnold Lodge Parents Association have chosen us as one of their two charities for the coming year and given a very generous cheque, which means we have met our fundraising target.

“Repairs to the wagon windows will take place soon - replacing the windows with perspex - and a new, less flameable, toilet will be built later in the autumn.”

As well as damaging the wood’s workshop, the vandals, who targeted the site off Prince’s Drive on the night of June 28/29, burnt down its compost toilet, smashed windows and destroyed its wood burner.

The toilet had only recently been rebuilt in partnership with the Warwickshire Association of Youths Clubs’ (WAYC) SAFE Youth club, which has a series of forest skills activities in Foundry Wood planned for the summer holidays and, until repairs are completed, will be without facilities.

The celebration barbecue will take place at the wood on Sunday August 9 from 7.30pm, followed by a guided night-time tour of the woodland to view and identify moths and other creatures with Warwickshire’s moth recorder David Brown. People are asked to bring some food and drink to share on the night.

Foundry Wood has been open for just over two years, and now has around 2,500 visitors a year. The wood is a charity and is co-managed by the Friends of Foundry Wood and ARC - a community interest company. To find out more, visit www.foundrywood.co.uk