“Benjamin’s face lit up when he first saw the doll’s house, the project has meant so much to him,” said Gill Hunter Nudds, Earthworks Creative Instructor.


Earthworks, the creative arts team at the Aldingbourne Country Centre, enjoy making and creating arts projects with the people they support at the Trust.  One particular project caught Benjamin Austin’s eye, when the Trusts former Furniture Restoration Lead Jim Thompson brought in a dolls house that he had made many years before for his own daughter.


The doll’s house had never quite been finished, so he thought it would make a great project for the team at Earthworks.  On bringing the doll’s house to the Country Centre back in April, Benjamin’s face lit up and very quickly he said, “Can I do it?”


Benjamin has an interest in houses and interior design, so he was very excited to be able to take on the project by himself, choosing the colours to paint and the furnishings to decorate it.  “He has a great attention to detail, so this was the perfect project for him,” said Gill.


As Benjamin is not at the Country Centre every day, it took him just over 4 months to complete.  He wanted to give the house a modern feel, creating as much detail as possible, including handmade mosaic splashbacks for the bathroom and even making miniature picture frames for the walls.  


The house had been on display in the Earthworks department, where it caught the eye of Mrs Huckle, who has been a customer at the Country Centre for many years.  She bought the doll’s house with the proceeds to go towards the Earthworks department to continue their great work.  Benjamin was delighted that she liked it and he is looking forward to doing another one as he enjoyed it so much.

When the Aldingbourne Trust was founded over 40 years ago, the centre focused solely on horticulture.  Today it has over 14 social enterprises, however horticulture is still at the heart of the Aldingbourne Country Centre, as it provides hands on learning and development opportunities for the people we support with learning disabilities and/or autism. 
 
James Simpson has been attending the Country Centre for over 10 years now, and he has developed a vast knowledge of horticulture that he is often giving advice to others and helps to identify plants around the centre.  He has grown many plants and trees from seeds, including the Alder which was recently planted by the Duke of Gloucester to commemorate his visit to the Aldingbourne Country Centre earlier in the summer.  
 
James loves to maintain the orchard at the Country Centre where there are many varieties of apples and pears growing.  “My favourite apple is a cross between and apple and a pear, but tastes sweet like a pineapple” said James.  He has recently started to grow a new apple tree, using a seed from an apple a colleague had for his lunch.
 
The horticulture enterprise is supported by volunteers who work closely, and often one-to-one with the people the Trust supports.  Clare Seaby has been volunteering at the country centre since last November, Clare says “This is my happy place, I love to come and volunteer here as I enjoy the interaction with the clients, it is extremely rewarding and I really enjoy being here.”  Clare enjoys volunteering here so much, she was telling her neighbour Kath about the Trust, and now Kath volunteers at the centre alongside Clare.
 
Kath Sartin has been volunteering for three months now, she said “Clare’s face would light up when she was telling me what she had been doing that day with the people she was supporting.  So I decided I would volunteer too, I look forward to coming each week.”
 
The Trust is always looking for new volunteers to support their horticulture and other enterprises.  Every volunteer makes a real difference to the people they support.  If you are interested in finding out more about volunteering with the Trust please contact Tracy Milward on 01243 544607 or tracym@aldingbourne.org. 
 
Why not pop along to find out more, as you can visit the horticulture department and café at the Aldingbourne Country Centre without purchasing an entrance ticket to the whole site.  We are located just off the A27 between Tangmere and Fontwell.  You can also visit our website www.aldingbournetrust.org for more information about our award winning charity that supports adults with learning disabilities and/or autism to live independent lives.

The Aldingbourne Trust is inviting the local community to take part in a worldwide initiative to learn how to save a life.
 
The Restart a Heart campaign (RSAH) is an annual initiative led by the Resuscitation Council (UK) in partnership with The British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, St John Ambulance, and Yorkshire Ambulance service which aims to improve the low numbers of people surviving out of hospital cardiac arrests.  In 2018 over 238,000 people were trained in CPR by regional Ambulance Services and private providers as part of the campaign.
 
On and around Wednesday 16th October 2019, an alliance of organisations all over the world will be coming together to increase public awareness of cardiac arrests and increase the number of people trained in life saving CPR by organising and facilitating training events.  This is the sixth annual Restart a Heart campaign and the second annual World Restart a Heart (WRSAH) campaign.
 
As part of this worldwide initiative, Aldingbourne Trust have teamed up with Avanti Training Solutions www.avantitraining.co.uk, to hold free CPR training for the local community at the Aldingbourne Country Centre on Friday 18th October from 11.30am.  You are invited to come along on the day to find out more, and learn the basic CPR skills needed to help make a difference when it matters. 
 
John Bowles, Avanti Training Solutions said “As a first aid training provider, I'm very much aware of the science and changes to CPR guidelines and how these have increased survival rates in recent years, yet we in the UK still lag behind other countries. My mission is to raise public awareness of sudden cardiac arrest out of hospital. You have less than one in ten chance of surviving SCA in the UK.” 

“It is important to teach members of the public how to help restart the heart of someone who has suffered a cardiac arrest (their heart has stopped beating). Giving them the knowledge and confidence to recognise and then start providing them with life saving cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR and use a public AED device.” 
 
Michelle Mckinley Bell, Enterprise & Development Manager at Aldingbourne Trust said “We are so pleased to be hosting this event, to be able to give the local community the opportunity to learn these essential skills which could help save someone’s life.”
 
Aldingbourne Trust is a local charity that supports people with learning disabilities and/or autism to have the same opportunities as everyone else to live independent lives.  Visit our website www.aldingbournetrust.org for information on our venue hire facilities, and more about our award winning charity. 
 

On the 26th July, HRH The Duke of Gloucester was invited to visit the Aldingbourne Country Centre, to see first-hand how award winning charity Aldingbourne Trust supports adults with learning disabilities and/or autism to live an independent life and learn skills within a variety of social enterprises to develop into paid or voluntary employment.
 
On arrival to the Country Centre, HRH The Duke of Gloucester was received by Mr John Shippam, Deputy Lieutenant of West Sussex and a Trustee of the Aldingbourne Trust; Mrs Davina Irwin-Clark High Sheriff of West Sussex; Cllr. Janet Duncton, Chairman at West Sussex County Council and Miss Frances Russell, Chair of the Trustees of the Aldingbourne Trust.
 
Mr Peter Stanley, General Manager of the Aldingbourne Country Centre, welcomed HRH The Duke of Gloucester and presented a tour of the newly opened Quarry Building; highlighting the facilities and specially designed features of the new venue, HRH was shown how the new Quarry Building had been designed to promote sustainability and reduce its future environmental impact. 
 
After meeting some of the Country Centre staff, HRH was then given an escorted tour of the outdoor facilities, including the sand and water play area, and the new indoor soft play area.  Visiting the wood recycling enterprise and furniture restoration project, he was greeted by Brian Alden the Wood Recycling Enterprise Lead and took pleasure in meeting some of the people the Trust supports. 
 
To commemorate his visit to the Country Centre, HRH The Duke of Gloucester planted an Alder tree near the Country Centre orchard.  The tree was grown from a seedling by one of the people they support and has been planted to eventually grow and create a sheltered resting area for future visitors.  
 
HRH The Duke of Gloucester completed his visit to the centre by meeting some of the Trustees, volunteers and people the Trust support over a light lunch in the Quarry conference room. 
 
Peter Stanley said – “It was an honour to provide a guided tour of our facilities and introduce HRH The Duke of Gloucester to the people we support. He appeared very interested in our charity and took the time to engage in conversation with staff and the people we support.” 

We are pleased to announce that we will be running Pre-School activities from September in our newly decorated soft play area.  Our dedicated pre-school activities room will provide a range of sessions four days a week during the West Sussex school term time.  Activities will include: Art and craft, messy play, music and movement, woodland explorers and story time activities. 
 
These sessions will be around an hour long, running in both the morning and afternoon, and will be specially created for 0-5 years.  They will be inspired by different themes, such as shapes, seasons, cultural festivals and favourite characters/books.   Each session will aim to promote children’s physical, communication and social skills, and will be fun, educational, interactive and inclusive.
 
The focus of each session will be “together time” for parents/guardians and their child/children, with the opportunity to explore, learn and develop together.  Children will take part in play experiences provided by a fully qualified childcare practitioner, who will be on hand to chat to parents and build children’s confidence, imagination and concentration skills.
 
More information on our new pre-school sessions is available on our website www.aldingbournetrust.org/pre-school-activities.  Spaces are pre-book only, so please visit our website to secure your space today.  Each pre-school session is priced at £6 per child, (£5.50 for members).  If you wish to explore the rest of the Country Centre on your visit, you can purchase a wrist band to visit our onsite activities.
 
The Aldingbourne Country Centre is open everyday from 10am until 4.30pm.  With a woodland walk and playground, open farm, ride-on tractors, maze, mini golf, soft play, sand and water play, wooden train and castle play area, and delicious locally sourced and home-cooked food in our own onsite café which features an indoor slide. 

The Duke of Richmond, Patron of the Aldingbourne Trust, declared the Trust’s Quarry Building officially open at a celebration and ceremony at the Aldingbourne Country Centre on Thursday. The Duke’s family have supported the Aldingbourne Trust for many years - the Duke’s father had opened the Centre’s wood recycling project in 2006 - some of this wood is now powering the Quarry Building.  
 
The Duke said, “The Quarry Building is the culmination of 10 years of designing, securing support, funding and construction. It offers a new vision for social care – where local businesses, the community and people who have learning disabilities and/or autism can learn, work and prosper. It’s a model which is attracting international attention. The impressive building is a new West Sussex gem which I would encourage everyone to visit”. 
 
The Aldingbourne Trust took the opportunity to thank everyone involved in supporting them to raise the funds to develop and improve the facilities at the Country Centre.  This included people who had jumped out of planes, scaled the Spinnaker Tower, cycled across the UK and Europe, and run marathons. Special thanks were also due to the Coast to Capital Local Economic Partnership.  Tony Middleton, Chief Operating Officer said “We are delighted to support the Aldingbourne Trust, the space here is truly inspiring”. 
 
Two of the Centre’s members, Sean Simmonds & James Weller, spoke about how much they enjoy being involved with all of the opportunities on offer at the Centre and their pride in the new Quarry Building.  James said “The new building means a lot to me, it is a place to chat to the public, a place to work, have fun and learn new skills”.
 
James and Sean look forward to welcoming more visitors, to the impressive building, (which has an indoor slide, café, meeting rooms, shop), & the other enterprises on the site - wood, furniture restoration, horticulture, horse rug washing/repair, open farm and new children’s play areas. 

We have had a fabulous week of fun at the Aldingbourne Country Centre over the May half term holiday.  With thousands of visitors attending over the five event days, families enjoyed many activities, including jumping around on the bouncy castles, and taking part in a great big water fight on splash about day in our Woodland Walk.  “We visited today for the first time with my Mum and three children aged 11, 5 and 4.  We had the most amazing day, so relaxed and lots to do” said Sammie from Worthing.

On Thursday 30th May, families enjoyed birds of prey displays throughout the day with First Class Falconry.  Children also enjoyed the opportunity to take part, by lying on the ground as Elmo the Owl flew across them. Children were also able to ask questions, and even hold some of the birds.

Then on Friday 31st it was Reptile day with ‘Toms Talking Reptiles’.  “We had a brilliant day today at the Aldingbourne Country Centre, I thought Toms Talking Reptiles were great, and so patient with the children” commented Sally from Brighton.  Children learnt all about the reptiles, and those that were brave enough, even held some of the snakes.

Visitors also enjoyed visiting our open farm, sand and water play area, and our new ride on tractors which were open in time for the half term fun.  With so much to do, families enjoyed another great day out at the Aldingbourne Country Centre.

If you like the idea of supporting a local charity by having fun, the Aldingbourne Country Centre is well worth a visit.  Open everyday from 10am until 4.30pm.  With a woodland walk, open farm, mini golf, ride on tractors, sand and water play area, wooden train and castle play area, and delicious locally sourced and home-cooked food in our own onsite café which features an indoor slide.
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