Woodpecker Wood CIC | Woodpecker Court

Community Work at Woodpecker Court

Woodpecker Wood CIC

Woodpecker Wood CIC was founded in 2016, with the purpose of providing local people with access to the outdoors and learning opportunities. The CIC exists to add value to the work of Woodpecker Court, and ensure access to it for the local community. It is through the CIC that we have been able to partner with organisations such as Kent County Council, Dover District Council, Colyer Fergusson Trust, Coalfield Regeneration Trust and Kent Community Foundation, to provide funding to help develop our projects.

GoFundMe - Woodpecker Court Community Farm

If you would like to help fund Woodpecker Court Community Farm, please click the link below

https://www.gofundme.com/f/woodpecker-court-community-farm?qid=e003f914e3dc2592085ff8b5de391453

Charitable Activities

Staff and students undertake a variety of charitable activities. These activities often take the form of coffee mornings, bake sales, non-uniform days, sale of badges/wristbands/rulers etc. These activities support organisations such as MacMillan cancer support, Children in Need, Alzheimer’s support, Emergency Services, Epilepsy Awareness, Royal British Legion.

We have worked in partnership with Dover District Council, Elvington Heritage Centre, St. Peter & St. Paul Church, Tilmanstone Welfare Club and Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School to deliver a range of community activities and charitable events.

Recently we have supported United Families, Canterbury & Dover Woman’s’ Refuge and Porchlight with the production by our students of over 220 frozen meals for Christmas. In December 2021 we supported a charity each Friday with themed events, supporting the Alzheimer’s Society, Save the Children Fund, the Epilepsy Foundation, and the National Emergency Services Cenotaph project. This work is an essential part of our ethos, promoting selfless acts and thought for others as fundamental British Values.

Holiday Activities

During all school holidays students and staff create, prepare and set out activities for the community to engage with. The activities are related to the time of year, celebrations for example are Halloween, Christmas, and Easter. Activities are provided either within Woodpecker Court’s woodland or on the Woodpecker Court Facebook page. The range of activities include colouring competitions, puzzles, hunts within the woods, art projects, Growing tallest flowers, pebble painting, wooden people. Staff and students strive to create new and engaging activities throughout the year.

This year Woodpecker Court are also creating a Winter Wonderland where the local community will be able to enjoy a festive adventure including hot chocolate, marshmallow toasting and even a visit with the special guest, Father Christmas!

Holiday activity programmes

Woodpecker Court provides local children with opportunities to engage with holiday activity programmes. Especially after Covid-19, children need the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors and learn new skills, socialise with friends and challenge their expectations of life. Activities range from animal care to woodland work, from cooking to art and sport. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for future programmes.

Supporting Events

Here at Woodpecker Court, we are committed to promoting community cohesion. On top of the Charitable activities undertaken we also actively support events organized by other groups. These include family fun days, Festive tree week, Let’s Chat and Let’s Eat and more.

Key to our ethos is playing a full part in our local community supporting and providing engaging, cohesive activities. The benefit to our students is regular diverse opportunities to engage in real world work experience, as part of their preparation for working life. These opportunities are vital in a post pandemic society in which work experience is hard to secure.

Community Farm and Farm School

In 2018 we started the process of developing the Community Farm. Working in partnership with the Tilmanstone Welfare Club, we developed the land next to the sports pitches into the community facility that you can see today. With a wide range of species to see and engage with, the farm has a number of benefits. It is a free attraction for local people to enjoy when they take a walk in the villages. It is a facility that enables our students to develop their practice and skills while studying Land Based and Animal Care qualifications. It is also a facility for local primary schools to enjoy Farm School sessions, where experiences are linked to the primary curriculum. It is very conveniently placed for Eythorne Elvington Community Primary School!

Community Garden

Woodpecker Court has just started work on creating a Community Garden. This will be a great space place to sit and enjoy the peace of the woods and get involved with the veg patch project. This space will also be a great place to display all the artwork created from the community activities. It will be located just inside the woodland entrance from the Welfare Club grounds, on the left.

Watch out for more details and update.

Volunteering

We are privileged to be approached by local people on a regular basis that want to make a contribution to our project. Some support with learning as Learning Support Assistants, others help with the care of our many animals. We really appreciate this vital help, as it means we can do more for the same funding. The Woodpecker Court community welcomes local people who want to help out.

Woodpecker Wood CIC

Winter Wonderland

On 10th December 2021 we transformed the woodland and some of the classrooms into a winter wonderland, with the support of funding from Dover District Council. Three of our classrooms became Santa’s grotto, the parachute a winter activity area, and the woodland came alive with Christmas lights!

Over 800 local people came on site to enjoy the evening, with 280 gifts given by Santa to local children! We had a great deal of feedback from the community, including the fact that for many children it was their first chance to meet Santa! What a wonderful, if exhausting experience!