Progress has been steady at the Warden, the new information board is in place giving details of the wildlife to be found on the site.

Jim Bell is still involved with the work here and continues to take part in the regular maintenance programme.

Jim had become concerned with the amount of his beloved wood wasted in our communities and wanted to start up a project to recycle this material while giving a learning opportunity for young people.

He was fortunate to find a receptive home for his idea with the team working on another project at Wegnall Farm, on the edge of Presteigne.

Down at Wegnall, the owner, Barry Meredith, along with Jean Millichamp, a local youth worker, had been developing a Care Farm project called the Curlew Centre.

Here young people experiencing problems in education, life in general or those with learning or physical disabilities were engaged in a learning experience working in horticulture, small animal husbandry and creative woodwork.

Jim's ideas about wood recycling fitted in with their aspirations, and with the help of the local Community worker, they were successful in getting funding from Powys Zero Waste to develop a bigger recycling and education project aptly named 'Wood-a-Gain'.

The students at the Curlew Centre already produced items of garden furniture and kindling bundles which were sold at the local farmer's market to raise funds for the Centre, but the new funding has accelerated development and a large barn is being cleared and organised into storage and processing workshops.

The surrounding community has responded well to the new facility and donations of waste wood are regularly delivered to the site.

The students and volunteers taking part in the activities have access to a valuable learning experience in recycling and business development.

A range of items are now produced including bird boxes, rabbit hutches, dovecotes and garden furniture.

There are loads of jobs to do down on the farm and new volunteers are always welcome to help with growing plants and vegetables, looking after the animals or contributing to the workshop development.

Contact for Curlew: Via Presteigne Community Support at admin@presteignevbx.freeserve.co.uk or 01544 267961

Article by Lesley Wootton