Bury St Edmunds charity Green Light Trust to raise £107,000 to complete learning hub in Martlesham, near Kesgrave and Ipswich

For more than 30 years, a charity has used nature to help the wellbeing of marginalised or disadvantaged people – and is now seeking help to finish its new learning hub near Kesgrave.

Green Light Fund, which is building a learning hub in Castan Wood, Martlesham, will launch a huge fund-raiser at an event this evening, seeking to raise £107,000.

The charity, based near Bury St Edmunds, offers a range of services, including specialist education activities for children and young people who struggle in mainstream schools, wellbeing for adults with complex needs, and corporate team building exercises across a variety of woodland areas across the county.

It has hosted events at Castan Wood for the past six years, having secured a 20-year lease from Suffolk County Council.

Work on the hub started thanks to funding from the Suffolk Growth Investment Fund – but needs this major fund-raiser to finish the work.

Interim chief executive Lauren Shand said: “The new learning centre at Castan Wood will enable us to expand our services in Suffolk for children, young people and adults with complex health and learning disabilities who currently struggle to access our woodland activities.

“The building has been designed with carbon-negative principles in mind, in keeping with our ethos as a charity, and only the most appropriate construction materials and techniques have been employed.

“We are extremely grateful to Suffolk County Council and our other partners and funders who have enabled us to reach this point.

“However, whilst the external structure of the building is complete, inflationary pressures and resulting increases in the cost of materials and professional services have meant we need additional funding to finish the project.

“We need to raise a further £107,000 to make the learning centre ready to welcome hundreds of children, young people and adults who rely on our services in the local area.”

Green Light Fund was founded in 1989.

The new learning hub was built in a modular style using hemp, without using cement.

Richard Rout, the deputy leader of Suffolk County Council, described the building as a ‘beacon of sustainability’ for Suffolk – with the authority having supported the charity for several years.

He added: “The new Learning Centre at Castan will be an exceptional asset to our county and will provide wonderful opportunities for children, young adults and families in and around Ipswich.

“It is the first building of its kind and has the potential to influence the wider construction industry, which currently accounts for 25 per cent of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions.”