Fawley (16 November 2006) -- A special project, which teaches people of all ages about the countryside and the New Forest, is to create a new workshop area to support its educational facilities.

The Countryside Education Trust based in Beaulieu has received a grant of £1,000 towards the work from Esso and ExxonMobil Chemical at Fawley. The money will be used to convert an agricultural building into a proper workshop area where staff and volunteers can work to maintain and renovate the equipment needed to run the centre, which includes a working farm.

The trust is a registered charity which was established back in the 1970s to enable children  to come and learn about the countryside, especially those from towns and cities. It is based on the Beaulieu Estate and now runs residential courses, a field studies centre, a farm and a community programme. As well as children from urban areas, it also caters for adults and offers a full programme of open days and clubs for youngsters living in the New Forest community.

The grant has been donated under a special scheme designed to recognise the efforts of ExxonMobil employees and their families who contribute their time, talent and energy to schools, charities and non-profit making organisations. The scheme not only helps local organisations, but also improves the links between ExxonMobil and the local community.

The recipient of the grant was Rick Withers, who is a process operator at the refinery in Fawley. He was introduced to the Countryside Education Trust when a colleague asked him to carry out some voluntary work at the end of a night shift 25 years ago. He is now a regular volunteer at the trust and visits most days after finishing a full shift at the refinery.

Rick said: “It is wonderful to watch children who have had no experience of the countryside come and enjoy a hands-on-experience with real animals. There are chickens, cows, sheep, pigs, ducks and goats. You watch them on the first day a bit hesitant and then by the end of the week they are really stuck in. We often get tears when they go home.

“I have also watched my own son grow up on the farm and loving the experience. He is now in his teens and has become a volunteer himself.“

The ExxonMobil Volunteer Involvement Programme has so far contributed more than £200,000 to local community projects since it was started three years ago.