Management at a major woodland in Melbourne which attracts beautiful wildlife and thousands of visitors every year is asking for the public’s help to raise a whopping £60,000 for a community centre.
Staff at Whistlewood Common, which is set between Melbourne and Ticknall, are asking residents who want to help safeguard the Derbyshire countryside to play a leading role in its latest project.
Whistlewood aims to bring together communities that have a passion for nature, spending time outdoors and making the most of South Derbyshire's countryside. The venue, which is free to use, also hosts events and workshops which help people to understand how communities can live more sustainably.
In a bid to see Whistlewood flourish as a valuable community asset, the public are being invited to support an affordable community share initiative to raise enough money – before the end of August – to fund the build of a new community hub on the site.
The venue’s management team is hoping that the generosity of the local community will enable them to raise £60,000 of social investment that can be put towards the construction of a green-build straw bale roundhouse that will be made using materials from within the National Forest.
Whistlewood director Sarah Spencer said: "We are hugely proud of the community space we have created on the common and our visitors tell us it is a valuable part of their lives, but we are keen to continue to upgrade our facilities and ensure the site meets the needs of the community.
"We are hoping that local people who care about safeguarding Derbyshire’s countryside and are passionate about sustainable living will be compelled to double the power of their money and support this social investment initiative.
"This is a fantastic and remarkable project that the whole community will benefit from."
The National Forest Company has pledged to support the project with a donation of £5,000 and Whistlewood has also gained the support of the lottery-funded community shares booster programme which will match the value of every community share that is purchased, up to a maximum value of £80,000.
To find out how to pledge support, visit www.whistlewoodcommon.org or telephone 07930 470565.
