A Sherwood Forest conservation project that helps the unemployed back to work has been classed as outstanding by its backers and encouraged to apply for another year’s financing.
Wild Sherwood volunteers Mr Paul Bradley, 19, of Ollerton, and Mr Mark Bush, 19, of Newark, cut back trees. (110112JT1-2)
The Wild Sherwood project, established by Ollerton and District Economic Forum using National Lottery funding, takes on ten unemployed men and women a month to help with conservation work in the forest.
Its aim is to build their practical skills and teamwork and to provide them with a reference for future employment.
The Lottery had granted the project £230,000 to continue until September, but after assessing the scheme they decided that it was providing a valuable resource for the community and encouraged its organisers to reapply.
Project officer Mr Matthew Pickering said all the volunteers on the scheme had benefited from it.
He said: “It is fantastic that we can give something back to the local community and that we can give our volunteers something they can take away with them.
“Everybody we have had in has had a good laugh and lots of them choose to stay on and keep helping.”
The project had already attracted extra funding from the Coalfields Regeneration Trust to help it run for an extra six months until July 2013 in recognition of its success.
Volunteer Mr Damian Hope, of Newark, was full of praise for the scheme.
He said: “I came here for the month’s volunteering originally, but I’ve stuck around and I’ve been here six weeks now. It’s hard work but rewarding and it certainly keeps you active.”
The volunteers are renovating the waterways around Rufford Country Park, which had fallen into disrepair, with the aim of making them open to the public once again.
