Great Central Way project earns national environmental award

Great Central Way project earns national environmental award

A Rugby Rotary Club centenary project to upgrade a section of the Great Central Way, has been recognised with a national award.

The Rotary Club’s work, in conjunction with Rugby Borough Council and Warwickshire Wildlife Trust, to upgrade the section of the former railway line has received the Rotary Club of Great Britain and Ireland Environment Award.

Heart of England Rotary Club, Rotary Club GB&I, Great Central Way, Rugby, environment award
Volunteers laying track last year.

It was picked out as the winner from projects across the UK which fulfil the sustainability criteria, as set out by a judging panel made up of members of The RGB&I Environment Sustainability Group and ESRAG British Isles Chapter.

Former President of the British Rotary Clubs in the British Isles, Rodney Huggins MBE, created the awards in 1999 following receipt of a letter from the Private Secretary to Prime Minister Tony Blair enquiring about Rotary’s environmental efforts.

He said: “Rugby’s entry was chosen because of the scale of its project, its environmental impact, involvement of young people and potential for growth and development.”

The Great Central Way route ceased use as a railway in 1965 when Rugby Central Station was also demolished. Without the resources to manage it along its full length, the council handed over the lease to Warwickshire Wildlife Trust which now maintains the section south of Hillmorton Road. But they don’t have the resources to manage the northern section.

Heart of England Rotary Club, Rotary Club GB&I, Great Central Way, Rugby, environment award

Plans also include interpretation boards, to be designed by local blacksmiths, in a style echoing the traditional British Rail signs and explaining the history of the Great Central Way.

Rugby Rotary Club is now more than halfway through its four-year project to enhance the southern section of the Great Central Way, including the removal of undergrowth and trees, improving the Sun Street Play Area, creating a wild play area, providing signage and, subject to community involvement, the provision of a community garden/orchard.

The plans also include an Art Heritage Trail, which will include interpretation boards, to be designed by local blacksmiths, in a style echoing the traditional British Rail signs and explaining the history of the Great Central Way.

Heart of England Rotary Club, Rotary Club GB&I, Great Central Way, Rugby, environment award

Artists will also be commissioned to collaborate with schools in a competition to produce unique artwork and murals along the 1.2km route between Hillmorton Road and Abbey Street. And arriving soon are three new bespoke benches, funded by The Rugby Group Benevolent Fund and designed by Cawston artist and former Rotarian, Eric Gaskell. The back of the bench design incorporates trains, pedestrians and a cyclist as well as wildlife.

Rotary and WWT volunteers have already laid 200ft of track thanks to the donation of rails and sleepers by Network Rail.

Rugby Rotarian and GCW project leader Laurence Wilbraham, said: “All the volunteers involved with this scheme are delighted to have received this prestigious award. It acknowledges the huge effort involved over the last three years with over 1,600 hours having been worked and the considerable improvements which have been carried out.”

He added: “The Great Central Way is one of Rugby’s best kept secrets which was only really rediscovered by people during the first lockdown, particularly when Severn Trent closed Draycote Water.

“To mark our centenary, Rugby Rotary Club members wanted to do something that would raise both the profile of the club and of Rotary, would provide long term benefits for the people of Rugby and involve volunteering and young people as well as doing something environmental. The overall aim is to improve the ecological, landscape, educational and recreational value of the way.”

Heart of England Rotary Club, Rotary Club GB&I, Great Central Way, Rugby, environment award
Rotary members and volunteers clearing scrub

For further information about the Great Central Way project, Rugby Rotary Club or to volunteer, visit: https://www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/page.php?PgID=801977&ClubID=382

Sleep Pods team appeal for fresh support to help the homeless

Sleep Pods team appeal for fresh support to help the homeless

ROTARY Clubs throughout Warwickshire are urging the community to continue to get behind a pioneering project which is helping rough sleepers.

The call to support the Sleep Pod Charity comes following news this month that the number of deaths on the UK’s streets increased by a third throughout the pandemic.

Heart of England Rotary clubs adopted the initiative, which has produced more than 5,300 pods despite its volunteers facing challenges during the lockdowns.

Heart of England Rotary Club, Sleep Pods, Justin Devereux

They are the brainchild of former Rotarian Justin Devereux and friends Ian Ashby and Pete Kenyon, pictured above, whose time working at a refugee camp in Dunkirk in 2015, inspired them to launch the Sleep Pod charity three years later. After a prolonged design and testing process, they began manufacturing the ground-breaking shelters and distributed them for emergency use on the streets via local charities.

The lightweight, rain and wind-resistant pods are made from double-skin aluminium foil bubble sheeting similar to that used in cavity wall insulation and work by insulating the body’s own heat and have been successfully tested to temperatures as low as -16 degrees.

Justin Devereux is among those who can vouch for these results after personally testing the pods, including spending an entire day in an industrial-sized freezer!

Heart of England Rotary Club, Sleep Pods, Justin Devereux

Justin, who has also trialled them on his local streets of Birmingham, said: “It was a really scary experience. I was actually moved on by a security officer at one point.

“We find it incredibly empowering where we can take volunteers with no experience whatsoever and, in just an hour, show them how to build something that quite literally can provide a major improvement on someone’s living conditions,” said Justin.

“This is something that has been incredibly well received but is so simple as a concept. I don’t think I will ever find anything else that will allow me to have so much of an impact on other people’s lives. Nobody deserves to sleep on the streets.”

More than 2,500 volunteers, including Rotarians, have supported the charity through fundraising as well as becoming Sleep Pod corporate partners and taking part in Build Workshops. But it was when these workshops were forced to adapt during lockdowns, that the highly successful Build At Home Project was born. Around half of the total pods manufactured were produced in this way where volunteers would collect a pack of materials, follow a set of instructions to build them at home and then drop them back at the same location.

Here, Justin and his team would wrap them, add instructions and bag them up before being collected by one of the charity partners or outreach teams, which then distribute them to rough sleepers.

Justin said: “One of the reasons Build At Home has been successful is because people have been able to be productive in the safety of their own home while not going out. It has empowered people to continue to be able to make a difference.

He added: “A sleep pod is not a long-term solution. It is an emergency shelter only. The charity will write their contact details of someone on a sticker which is added to the pod because it’s very important that, as part of the process, Sleep Pod users know there is a charity local to them that can, and will, provide them with accommodation on a more permanent basis.

Heart of England Rotary Club, Sleep Pods, Justin Devereux

“Our vision is that these Pods get built all year round. There is constantly a need somewhere. What we want to be able to achieve is to have enough sleep pods for the people that need them whenever and wherever they are.”

And, as the freezing temperatures abate, local Rotarians are keen to emphasise the need for the workshops to continue in readiness for another busy winter for the Sleep Pod team this year.

Justin said: “We are very much aware we cannot do anything without our volunteers and supporters. We are constantly amazed by how much support we get. And the support from the Rotary is incredibly important,” said Justin.

Heart of England Rotary Club, Sleep Pods, Justin Devereux
The Sleep Pod organisers and volunteers

“We’re very proud of how much work we’ve done but our vision is for, one day, there not to be a need for the sleep pod charity at all. People do not need to die of exposure on the streets – it doesn’t have to be this way. But, for now, a simple, effective solution is available in the Sleep Pod.”

Spokesperson for the Sleep Pod Project for Warwickshire area Rotary Clubs, Terri Morgan, said: “Whether it be fundraising or volunteering their time to help build the pods, Rotarians are committed to helping the homeless within our communities. Please get in touch if you can help in any way.”

For more information on the charity or how to get involved visit their website at: http://www.sleeppod.org.uk, email them directly at: rotarysleeppod@gmail.com or call them on 07704713157.