Two nature-focused community projects in the Harrogate area have won £1,750 each in a competition run by Howarth Timber and Building Supplies.
Howarth Timber was looking for a worthy recipient for £1,750 worth of building supplies, with further prizes on offer to runners up, but the entries from Meadowside Community Primary School in Knaresborough and Autism Angels in Kearby were so strong that the panel of judges selected both causes to benefit from the full £1,750 prize.
The ‘Forest School’ programme run by Katy Smith at Meadowside helps children to learn about the great outdoors, offering experiences such as tree climbing, den building, campfire cooking and other activities that promote confidence and self esteem in young people.
Howarth Timber will be supplying Katy with fencing, decking, railway sleepers, bark chippings and all the tools required to reclaim a large area of rough ground next to the school field and turn it into the ideal space from which to run her programme.
Katy said:
These materials are going to be invaluable to us as we seek to carry on the work we are doing.
A team of volunteers from the local Army Foundation College will be involved in reclaiming the railway embankment, then school staff and volunteers will work together to re-fence and restructure the area to make it a suitable for children to explore and observe the great outdoors.
We are very grateful to Howarth Timber for selecting our project as a competition winner.
The Kearby charity Autism Angels has also won £1,750 of building materials and will be using the prize to refurbish a stable that is to be used as a learning area for children with autism.
The project’s director, Sarah Shearman, said:
We have been providing children and families with support for autism, behavioural and social difficulties for 18 months, and we want to upgrade our stable to make it an engaging environment for the children to use.
The provision of timber cladding, flooring and paint supplies will help us to transform the stable into a safe environment, where children with behavioural problems can interact with horses and gain the unique benefits that experience brings.
Gary Collins, branch manager of Howarth Timber Harrogate, said:
We felt that there was no way to choose between these two wonderful entries, so we decided our competition would have two top prize winners instead of one.
We are delighted to be helping both projects build for a brighter future.
