The pandemic has had a huge impact on Springhead, as it has on so many charities, businesses and individuals, but with support from a number of funders, large and small, we are now looking forward to a brighter future.
This month, we had the exciting news that the Springhead Trust is one of 445 heritage organisations across the country set to receive a lifesaving financial boost thanks to the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage. The grant of £84,500 will go towards core running costs and will fund a range of works designed to help the charity adapt and recover. These include the conversion of an existing garage into an outdoor classroom, improvements to the track leading to Springhead, and the replacement of a partition wall upstairs in the Mill Building with a sliding partition to enable larger arts and other events to take place with social distancing.
Edward Parker, Director of the Springhead Trust, said ‘This grant will make all the difference to Springhead. Our historic buildings and 15 acres of grounds are an important asset to the local and wider community, but without our usual income from school groups, wedding parties and other users, we have been struggling. The funding will help to keep the charity going during the pandemic, but also to adapt to the new circumstances, and to be ready to welcome existing and new visitors when it is safe to do so.’
The Trust has also been awarded grants in the last few weeks from the Sylvia Waddilove Foundation towards core costs, and from Frugi’s Happy Childhood Fund for costs to help us connect children with nature. This grant will enable Springhead to buy equipment so that children can take part in practical activities in the garden and kitchen, explains Edward Parker: ‘With the grant from Frugi, we will be doing field to plate activities that will help children understand how their food is grown and some of the many advantages both to themselves, in terms of health, and to the ecosystem, of eating fresh organically and locally grown food. This will include smoothies and ice creams made with soft fruit they can pick for themselves, and juicing apples from the new community orchard we will be creating’. The government is still advising against residential educational visits, but the Trust is preparing for when schools can return, and hopes to welcome more children on non-overnight visits.
