Girton Town Charity is delighted that Barnes Construction, its contractor for Dovehouse Court which will comprise 15 new almshouses and an office for its own operations, is donating offcuts of timber and pallets to the Woodmonkey Workshop in Bury St Edmunds.
The Workshop, which supports young people out of education and teaches them woodworking skills, is using the donated timber to create birdboxes, signs, hedgehog homes and other items which are sold on the charity’s website to fund maintenance and the purchase of tools.
Any untreated timber if not suitable for crafting is chopped up for the wood-burning stove which heats the premises.
Paul Darrington, Barnes Construction Site Manager for Dovehouse Court says: “We are delighted that we can help in this way and see our offcuts being put to good use by Woodmonkey. Most of the wood we have been able to send has come from our timber frame supplier who sends out lengths of timber for props and bearers.”
Woodmonkey was set up by Keith Colley during the pandemic. Keith says: “Donated materials are a real life-saver for us. The Dovehouse Court deliveries have been fantastic and we really appreciate the support. We have actually used the materials donated for a new product that will be launched on to the website soon.”
Ann Bonnett, GTC Chair added: “With sustainability top of the agenda in terms of constructing Dovehouse Court, it is also very rewarding to hear that timber offcuts are being used in this way so nothing is being wasted. Not only are young people benefitting from learning new woodworking skills, but the items they create are being used to enhance our natural habitats too.”
The new almshouses and GTC office in Dovehouse Court are being built to energy-efficient Passivhaus standards which centre around high levels of insulation, resulting in low energy costs and improved indoor air quality.
Caption
Working together on sustainability, left to right: Ann Bonnett, Chair Girton Town Charity; Keith Colley, Founder Woodmonkey Workshop; Paul Darrington, Site Manager Dovehouse Court, Barnes Construction.