Celebration of tenth anniversary of the opening of Foundry Wood in Leamington

A celebration if the tenth anniversary of the opening of Foundry Wood in Leamington will take place at the community woodland space this month.

Foundry Wood, off Princes Drive on the edge of the town, opened In June 2013, after nearly 18 months of work by the organisation Achieving Results in Communities (ARC) leading teams of volunteers.

At the time the woodland was made accessible to the public and the Friends of Foundry Wood charity was established.

Since then, ARC and the Friends of Foundry Wood have built infrastructure to support events and activities whatever the weather – a covered wooden outdoor classroom, compost toilet, bike shelter, wooden climbing frame and play area.

They created and recently restored a pond to support wildlife and provide an educational resource, and restored and installed a railway goods wagon and interpreting the history of the site and the surrounding foundries.

Foundry Wood was able continue to offer a safe space for people to visit during the pandemic and most recently, last year, acquired a 15-year lease from Network Rail on the adjacent land, The Sidings.

In ten years, the woodland has hosted hundreds of events and activities – including wildlife habitat creation and monitoring, toddler and children’s sessions, storytelling, wellbeing groups, youth mentoring, pizza making, theatre performances, singing and dance groups, woodland crafts, seasonal celebrations and more.

The chair of the Friends of Foundry Wood Kristie Naimo said: "We can hardly believe that it’s been ten years.

"Ten years in which we have created a wonderful community resource thanks to the continuing support of the community, individuals, businesses, and other organisations.”

“The ongoing success is especially thanks to many dedicated volunteers who look after the woodland ‘behind the scenes’.

"This includes volunteers opening the woods for people to use during the day, and closing at night so that wildlife can use the space.

"In this way, we are able to share this fantastic natural resource with many animals, birds and other wildlife right here on our doorstep.”

The celebration event takes place at Foundry Wood on Saturday June 25 from 2pm to 6pm.

https://www.foundrywood.co.uk/