Surrey Wildlife Benefits from Local Lions

Published on: 31 May, 2012
Updated on: 31 May, 2012

Steve Scotney, White Lion Walk Manager with members of The Guildford Lions presents the donation to Surrey Wildlife

Lions may not be a part of our local fauna but the Surrey Wildlife Trust benefitted yesterday (30 May) from the White Lion Walk shopping centre when the trust was presented with a cheque for £1,000 for their Forest Schools Programme.

Steve Cotney, Centre Manager at White Lion Walk, was joined by members of The Guildford Lions as the presentation was made. The money will be used for the programme which delivers out of classroom learning in school grounds and local green spaces across Surrey.

Children and young people are offered regular opportunities to achieve and develop confidence and self-esteem through hands on learning in a woodland environment.

From sensory activities, fire making, practical building activities and conservation tasks including making bird & bat boxes to orienteering and science/ geography based investigations and experiments; the Forest Schools Programme provides an incredible opportunity for pupils to get out of the classroom and learns in a natural environment.

The donation came from White Lion Walk’s success in the 2011 Guildford Lion’s Charity Raft Race as they won the ‘Champion Fundraiser’ award by collecting almost £2000 in sponsorship.

Aimee Clarke, People and Wildlife Manager for Surrey Wildlife Project, commented: “We are delighted with the support from White Lion Walk and the Guildford Lions. Their generous donation will allow many more children from the local area to discover the stunning nature of the Surrey countryside whilst providing them with fantastic learning skills out of the classroom. So many young people in today’s society are attracted to computer games and technology that they forget how much fun is literally surrounding them outside.”

Steve Cotney commented: “The raft race was a fantastic way to raise money and we are delighted to be presenting a cheque to the Surrey Wildlife Project to help children around the county with their Forest Schools Projects. We always strive to support local charities through our work at White Lion Walk and we will endeavor to continue helping the community in the future.”

For more information on the Surrey Wildlife Trust please visit www.surreywildlifetrust.org