Lottery funding for children to learn at Leamington community woods

The Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £13,000 to the Friends of Foundry Wood and ARC (Achieving Results in Communities), which led the scheme to create the wood off Prince’s Drive, to spend on a new education project at the site.

Pupils from schools and children’s groups - such as Brownies, Guides, Cubs, Scouts and Forest School groups - from across Leamington and Warwick will be able to participate in visits and craft sessions at the wood, where they will be guided by the newly-appointed education advisor Rachel Adshead and volunteers.

Thanks to the lottery funding, the visits and sessions will be free of charge for the first year and all volunteers will receive free training and reimbursements to travel costs.

Rachel said: “It will really help to have a team of volunteers to help during each session. It would be great to hand over certain tasks, like taking photos to document each visit or overseeing group activities, so that I can focus on leading the session.”

Kristie Naimo, director of ARC and chairman of the Friends group, said: “We are thrilled to have received the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund and are confident that local children will love the visits to the woodland.”

Reyahn King, head of Heritage Lottery Fund West Midlands, said: “These young people will now have the opportunity to learn about woodland habitats, wildlife conservation, traditional woodland crafts and environmental issues. Capturing their interest early on will help to conserve habitats into the future.”

To find out more about the project, email [email protected] and for more on Foundry Wood, visit www.foundrywood.co.uk