Helping out at Dukes Barn, Beeley
Three miles from CEM Solution’s base in Darley Dale is Dukes Barn Outdoor Activity Centre www.dukesbarn.org, set in an idyllic location in the village of Beeley, on the Chatsworth Estate.
This local charity provides outdoor and adventurous activities primarily for children with special needs and physical disabilities, as well as those from disadvantaged or poor inner-city areas.
Some members of the CEM team were fortunate enough to spend one of the hottest days of the year working in the grounds at Dukes Barn, helping with a variety of tasks that are a world away from our usual emissions monitoring activities.
One of the most popular activities for the children is ‘Stream Walking in the local woods; following a stream to a rock pool, whilst scrambling over rocks and under boulders. Our team worked to rebuild a dam wall, creating the pool area. They also rebuilt damaged obstacles across the stream, including removing and refitting a bridge/tunnel for the children to climb over/under.
Back on the main site, the Sensory Garden was overgrown, fruit bushes in the allotment were out of control and the Willow House was lacking structure and an overhead canopy. The CEM Solutions team pooled their (negligible!) collective gardening skills, working hard in the mini-heatwave to improve the activity centre’s grounds, ready for another year of activities for the children who attend Dukes Barn.
Follow the CEM Instagram to see more images of what we got up to on our Volunteer Day.