A £2,600 donation from Tesco has helped Canterbury Oast Trust buy an all-terrain wheelchair for use by students at its Poulton Wood nature reserve in Aldington, near Ashford.
Supermarket representatives visited the 28-acre conservation project to see the wheelchair in action.
Gill Gibb, chief executive of the trust, which provides opportunities for adults with learning disabilities, said: “Poulton Wood is a workplace training project in rural craft skills and sustainable woodland conservation, and this new wheelchair will be a great help to those students who have mobility issues and have previously found it difficult to access the wood.
“They can now explore the woodland without limits. The wheelchair is motorised, with a simple hand control, and is very stable over woodland terrain. It is proving to be a great workhorse and recently helped to transport some large tree trunks.”
The donation came from the Tesco Charity Trust Community Awards scheme, which provides donations to registered charities and not-for-profit organisations.
During their visit to Poulton Wood, local Tesco representatives joined trust resident Christopher Chappell who demonstrated the wheelchair’s usefulness.
Poulton Wood is a woodland management project designated by Kent Wildlife Trust as a Site of Nature Conservation Interest. It is maintained by staff, volunteers and residents of Canterbury Oast Trust whose useful work in preserving the ancient bluebell woodland brings rewards.
Gill Gibb aid: “We are very grateful to Tesco for their generous donation and delighted that the money has gone towards something so useful.”
Simon Davey, the Community Champion from Tesco’s Park Farm store in Ashford, said: “It was such a pleasure to visit Poulton Wood and meet some of the students who will benefit from the wheelchair. It will help students make progress with the great work they do at the project.”
