Green-fingered pupils at William Cassidi C of E Primary School in Stillington, Stockton-on-Tees, are enjoying a thriving outdoor oasis thanks to grants from the Lambs Hill Wind Farm community benefits fund. The school transformed a once-fenced-off patch of land into a vibrant garden with homegrown fruit, vegetables, and flowers.
Grants and Garden Features
A £4,235 grant from the wind farm fund allowed the school to install raised growing beds, new wooden seating, and practical storage facilities. Pupils built bug hotels and bird boxes, creating a haven for wildlife. A further £2,100 grant enabled the installation of a bark surface and stepping stone path from the playground, ensuring safe year-round access.
The garden is used across the curriculum, with a dedicated reading area requested by pupils. Parents, carers, nursery, and pre-school children also use the space. Local residents donated tools, and community volunteers support the school's gardening club.
Community and Educational Impact
Marie Goncalves, parent governor, said: “The children absolutely love being outside working in the garden or taking other lessons in the open air, while our gardening club is helping us build really strong links with the wider community. They were very closely involved with creating the garden, highlighting the resources they wanted to see included and building some of these items themselves, and are responsible for planting, growing and looking after lots of different types of produce, which gives them a fantastic opportunity to see for themselves how the growing process goes from start to finish.”
She added: “We’ve accessed the garden via the grass up to now, and with conditions underfoot naturally getting very wet and slippery in the colder months on what was an increasingly worn surface, there’ve been times where it’s not been safe for the children to use it. While we knew that it needed doing, this project would have stayed out of our financial reach if we’d not been able to access this latest grant from the Lambs Hill Wind Farm community benefits fund. As well as now being much safer for everyone to use, the bark area is also environmentally friendly and will last for a long time.”
Wind Farm Fund and Future Plans
This is the third grant from the Lambs Hill fund, following a £3,000 grant in 2019 for a safe waiting area near a busy road. The fund, managed by OnPath Energy and owned by ERG, provides about £12,000 annually for local causes. Melissa Falconer, head of business development UK of ERG, said: “In acquiring the Lambs Hill Wind Farm, ERG has embraced the responsibility of upholding all commitments to ensure that the site remains both a producer of clean energy and a trusted ‘Good Neighbour’ to the local community. This means more than just providing support; it is about genuine alignment of values. For the Group, being part of this landscape means looking after it: from the new pathways at William Cassidi School to caring for the wider environment.”
Tom Chaplin, partnerships and community manager at OnPath Energy, added: “The Lambs Hill Wind Farm Fund community benefits fund was designed to deliver tangible community value for local people, and it’s great to see how the school has been able to benefit from it over the years. The different learning opportunities that the garden offers make it a fantastic facility for the William Cassidi children to use and we hope they’ll now be getting out in the open air even more often.”
Environmental and community projects near the wind farm can apply for funding by contacting apply@onpathcommunityfund.co.uk or 0191 378 6342.
