Carymoor celebrates busiest year yet

We're looking forward to welcoming visitors again

Carymoor is happy to say that the financial year 2019-20 was its busiest yet, with more visitors and activities than ever before. Times are tougher now due to COVID-19, as for many charities, but there's plenty to be thankful for looking back over the last year.

School visits

135 school groups visited Carymoor’s nature reserve, giving more than 4,300 pupils the chance to get up close to the natural world and learn about the environment and living sustainably.

“Both adults and children had a brilliant day. The activities were perfect for the age group and […] your smiley faces, enthusiasm and energy are something to be very proud of.”
Dilton Marsh Primary, June 2019

“My class were so engaged in everything; it was lovely to see […]. Hand on my heart I couldn’t have asked for a better organised or more appropriate trip for my class.”
Mendip School, January 2020

Schools Against Waste  

The Schools Against Waste team went out to visit 88 Somerset primary schools, reaching more than 12,700 children. The outreach programme, working with Somerset Waste Partnership, is inspiring pupils with assemblies and workshops themed on the ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ message. The team also handed out 96 food bins, 93 food caddies and more than 10,700 rolls of compostable liners to help parents recycle more of their food waste.

“[Schools Against Waste] has been really purposeful; thought provoking for the children and adults and such a great free service for schools […]. It enabled the children to have this fantastic experience.”
Otterhampton Primary, October 2019

“The children are coming up with suggestions as to how they would like to make a change now at school, and I have already heard reports from parents about how their children are questioning what they throw away and which items could actually be recycled or reused!”
Haselbury Plucknett First School, January 2020

The local community

34 adults and 51 children connected with nature at one of Carymoor’s family days.

152 people learnt traditional rural skills, such as hedge laying and coppicing, on courses run in partnership with Somerset Skills and Learning.

24 community groups of all ages visited, ranging from WI groups to Cubs and Scouts.

46 young carers and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds took part in activity days, through Carymoor working with Magdalen Farm on their This is our Land project.

6 young people with additional needs took part in placements to learn conservation skills, boost their confidence and improve their employment opportunities.

Volunteers gave an incredible total of 3,000 hours to help with all aspects of Carymoor’s work – from conservation to education and everything in between. THANK YOU!

Conservation

The summer of 2019 saw the highest number of butterflies recorded on Carymoor’s nature reserve in four years – 2,700 butterflies of 26 species.

87 species of birds were recorded at Carymoor and the neighbouring Cary Marsh reserve. Two barn owl chicks were discovered in one of Carymoor’s nest boxes last spring.

All 7 main bumblebee species were recorded last summer.

Carymoor retained the Wildlife Trust’s Biodiversity Benchmark award, which recognises the quality and diversity of the reserve.

Rupert Farthing, Carymoor Chief Executive, said: “Thank you to everyone that supported Carymoor during 2019-20; from the 135 schools that visited to our dedicated team of volunteers, whose extraordinary contribution makes so much difference to our work. We’d also like to thank Viridor, whose continuing sponsorship allows us to make the educational opportunities we provide more affordable for schools and available to a wider range of the community.

Rupert added: “The start of 2020-21 has been difficult. It is sad to see our centre quiet during what would usually be one of our busiest times of year. When the lockdown is over, the team at Carymoor will be raring to go and we look forward to sharing our incredible nature reserve and inspiring activities with you once again.”

For more information about how Carymoor is affected during lockdown click here.

Carymoor greatly appreciates donations to help the charity get through this challenging time. To donate click here.

Interested in getting involved at Carymoor when lockdown ends? Whether you have a few hours to spare or you’d like to help out every week, there’s a volunteering opportunity to suit your skills and interests. Visit www.carymoor.volunteermakers.org to find out more.