Sixth Anniversary
March 18th, marks the 6-year anniversary of the re-opening of the Singleton Environment Centre, under the stewardship of Singleton Spaces! Six years is a long time, and we, like all of you, have come a long way since then. This month, we would like to share our progress with you!
In 2018, adjacent to the car parks were storage lockers, bins, bike racks and rubbish. Those still stand today (minus the rubbish!), though they don’t stand alone. In late 2020, work began on this site, bringing in storage containers, construction equipment and willing workers.
This work lasted months, until on July 31st 2021, the brand-new Brisley Centre was officially opened! The Brisley Centre now houses the Brisley, Woodland and Michael Lake rooms, which are used by the Education team, the Sewing Circle, volunteers and more, alongside the incredible viewing platform and the main office of the Centre Manager! This amazing achievement was made possible thanks to considerable S106 development funding, alongside fundraising from the Great Chart with Singleton Parish Council and fundraising by Singleton Spaces.
The Brisley Centre was built with sustainability in mind, with solar panels installed on the roof. Wildflowers grow atop the banks along the path to the viewing platform. The Michael Lake room is decorated with environmental info-graphics and literature, all set to the stunning backdrop of the Great British countryside. Even the storage containers themselves were second-hand, and repurposed to become the rooms we use today.
The Brisley Centre is perhaps the biggest project the Singleton Environment Centre has undertaken since it’s re-opening. Empty, wasted land became the site of much learning, community and environmental productivity. It’s integral to what we do here at the Environment Centre, and is just one of the goals we have achieved since 2018. Here’s to many more!
Watch John introduce the Resilience Garden project.
See also www.singletonenvironmentcentre.org.uk/explore/resilience-garden/
Drone video credit: David Hartley