Friends of The Pod
Carymoor Environmental Centre
What a load of rubbish!
The Carymoor Centre is an environmental haven located at the edge of a restored landfill site.
Next door, there is a working landfill.
Its unique location provides the ideal setting to contrast environmental sustainability with the less sustainable activity of landfill.
Education through demonstration
This is a great opportunity for school groups to see for themselves the volume of household rubbish that currently goes to landfill and how quickly we are running out of space.
The key messages of the Centre are:
- sustainability and environmental conservation
- encouraging children to reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill
- promoting the reuse of items (visit the shanty town made from reclaimed rubbish)
- recycling where possible
A Tour of the centre
To really appreciate Carymoor, you will receive a full tour (2 hours) of the restored and working landfill. You will discover:
- How the green waste is composted and resold
- How food waste is processed and used as farm compost
- How methane produced during the decomposition of the land fill is collected to generate electricity
- What happens to all the waste liquid that collects at the bottom of a working landfill
- You will also view the wildlife conservation and habitat creation in the restored landfill, there’s even mini beast hunting and pond dipping for the little ones.
Full day programmes are available with supporting workshops (create electricity with solar panels and wind turbines). Even lunch is an education with the opportunity for children to consider their own food and packaging waste and discuss how they could become more sustainable.
Sustainability in action
As you would expect the main centre building embodies sustainability through its constructional use of locally sourced timber – Douglas fir, green oak and red cedar.
It is built on stilts mitigating the excessive use of concrete and helping to reduce its environmental impact. The building is insulated with recycled paper and sheep’s wool. The roof tiles and some of the doors are re-used.
Two wind turbines and photovoltaic roof shingles contribute electricity for the daily running of the centre. There is solar water heating and a wood burner provides some of the space heating. The centre also utilises rainwater harvesting and treats the sewage on site.
What is great about the Carymoor Environmental Centre is the chance for children to see for themselves the negative and positive impacts that mankind can have on their environment. Wellies are a must & don’t forget a rain mac!
To find out more about Carymoor Environmental Centre, visit: www.carymoor.org.uk.
To discuss a visit to the centre, contact Graham Jennings on 01963 350143
Carymoor Environmental Centre, Dimmer Lane, Castle Cary, Somerset, BA7 7NR
Back to top
Skelton Grange Environment Centre
Visiting us
As you travel through the suburbs of Leeds, and drive past the electricity sub station, it is hard to believe that you are visiting an Environment Centre – and that is what makes the BTCV environment centre at Skelton Grange so special.
The building and surrounding land is a testament to environmental conservation and sustainability. And visitors are able to experience the ethos of the centre hands on.
A garden full of discovery
The gardens provide a safe and fun environment for children to explore the nature and wildlife. The garden is split into smaller breakout areas, designed to create a sense of exploration and discovery for the visitors.
Some areas are deliberately wild so that the children feel they are having an adventure.
There are endless opportunities for pond dipping, mini beast hunting and plant spotting. There is also a well planted vegetable plot.
All the materials in the garden are sourced from natural sustainable materials or are re-using waste materials (shed made of salvage and old tyres for plant pots!).
Sustainability in action
As you would expect, the main building is a testament to sustainable living; reducing the dependency on electricity and water.
The large windows let in lots of natural sunlight, and extensive insulation and argon filled double glazing retain the heat that comes from the ground source heat pump.
Even the elements are a valuable resource – electricity is generated from the wind and sun and the rainwater is harvested from the roof to flush the toilets.
The centre is perfect for encouraging a love of nature and engaging children in environmental issues, that they can take back to their own schools, and also inspires adults to get involved in their local environment through its volunteering and training programme.
Aimed at 3-11 year olds, visits to the centre are free for schools in the Wakefield and Leeds areas and it is currently running at full capacity.
To find out more about Skelton Grange, visit: www.skeltongrange.org.uk.
Back to top
Brocks Hill Visitor Centre
Visiting us
There is something for everyone at Brocks Hill Visitor Centre located within Brocks Hill Country Park.
There are also plenty of reasons to return time and time again.
There is a café, small shop, Exhibition Hall, toilets and free car parking.
The centre is fully accessible and there are hard surfaced paths suitable for prams and wheel chairs.
Cutting edge environmental design
The centre was designed in conjunction with De Montfort University, and is packed with examples of the latest sustainable technologies.
From the front entrance the building isn’t particularly exciting; that’s because the walls are insulated with earth piled in a grass verge up to small windows (to minimise heat loss), what remains is a very large roof space (used to harvest the rain water). It is only when you are inside that you appreciate the real size of the building.
In contrast the back of the building is covered in large, double glazed, windows to maximise the natural light and heat from the sun. What little space is left is used to house photovoltaic panels to generate electricity.
Wind Power
Electricity is also supplied by a 20kw wind turbine further up the hill, and during the winter the building can be heated using our waste-wood (biomass) boiler.
What you cannot see hidden below the centre is the onsite treatment of waste water.
School parties are welcome at Brocks Hill and with prior arrangement; tours and classroom workshops are available.
Beautiful Surroundings
The country park has plenty to keep a school group entertained for a morning and/or afternoon.
If you can get the children past the extensive outdoor play area, you can walk up through the meadows and woodland in search of local wildlife, or head down to the pond to see what’s lurking within.
There’s no excuse for children arriving back late as there is also a human sundial next to the centre!
As you would expect the centre is open to the public all year round, and is just a 10 minute drive from the M1 – making Brocks Hill an ideal family day out as well as a learning centre.
For more information visit www.brockshill.co.uk
Back to top
Southport Eco Visitor Centre
Visiting us
The Southport Eco Visitor-Centre offers a practical and fun demonstration of sustainability by inspiring visiting schools and members of the public to consider our impact on the environment through stimulating information and interactive displays about energy, transport and tourism.
The Centre sits on the Esplanade Park and Ride site, supporting the ethos of reducing congestion and pollution in the town centre.
The building
The building itself is a great example of sustainability in action as the building is served by a 20 KW wind turbine, groundsource heatpumps with underfloor heating, solar heating providing hotwater and rainwater is collected for flushing toilets.
The interactive displays are ideal reading material whilst waiting for the next bus! But there is so much more to this deceptive building; hidden away is a classroom and an eco-garden large enough for school parties of 30+ children.
The classroom
The classroom has a full time teacher on hand to provide a rich, interactive extensive education programme that tackles many complex subjects aimed at Key Stage 2 and 3, including:
- Energy Choices
- Renewable Energy
- The water cycle and water conservation
- What’s in the Environmental News?
- Climate Change
- Transport Alternatives
- School Travel Plan
- Coastal Management
- Habitats
- Eco-School
- Eco Taster
- Earth, Sun and Moon
- School Council Seminar
All the visits are linked to National Curriculum attainment targets and QCA units across a range of subjects including Science, Geography and Citizenship. New days are always being developed and lesson plans are written to suit needs of particular groups.
Building relationships
The programme is so much more than a day out, and the Centre is building lasting relationships with schools both locally and all over the North West. For those schools that are travelling from further afield, a visit to the Eco-Centre can be complemented with a trip to the dunes, nature trail or as part of a Geography fieldtrip to study the history of Southport.
Visit us at: www.southportecocentre.com
Back to top