Staff at LionMouth Rural Centre started work on their £10,000 woodland project, adjacent to their Broadgate Farm site, located between Esh Winning and Ushaw Moor, during the Spring.
The freemen, who last Autumn pledged £1,000 towards the woodland development, have now stepped forward with a further £3,000 to help underwrite costs of the tea room to meet new public demand for refreshments at the centre’s thriving plant nursery.
More that two dozen local people, aged from their teens to mid-60s and struggling to cope with social or learning difficulties, or suffering or recovering from mental health issues, are supported by two full-time, three part-time staff, backed by a team of 16 volunteers, at the centre.
The attendees are offered day care support and training in woodwork, horticultural, art, pottery, cookery and conservation.
The farm’s adjoining overgrown plot contains trees and shrubs - some of them rare - which will be embraced within the managed woodland venture. The development work, tackled by staff and clients, will include public access. It will feature a pathway, lined by scented plants and shrubs, leading to an open glade with seating, benches and a view of the nearby river.
The addition of a tea room has been dovetailed into the plan to meet “consistent and continuing demand” from visitors coming to the farm’s nursery.
Centre manager Brigid Press explained: “We had a thriving tea room before Covid forced us to close it down. We then had to utilize the area to provide chairs, desks and sufficient space for clients to allow us to re-open. Now clients have been reluctant to give their own little pieces of territory and it does work better for us as a day centre – and take on more clients.”
She admits the new wood-built tea room in the tree trees – with its own power supply - will be a scaled down version of the original but will have additional seating, as well as a gazebo providing sheltered seating for customers.
Although providing an element of self-service it will staffed by some of the day-care users who will also be helping cook and bake the produce they will be serving.
“Those involved will be playing a larger public-facing role than previously and will be trained and certified in food safety before starting,” added Brigid.
Eric Bulmer, chairman of the freemen’s trustees, said: “Once again the Lionmouth staff, including its many volunteers, have demonstrated their enthusiasm and dedication to continue developing the site for the benefit of its vulnerable clients , local community and visitors.”
All images by Geoff Kitson Photography - https://geoffkitsonphotography.co.uk/