Staff and volunteers at Skelton Grange Environment Centre have been celebrating Bike Week 2008 in style, with a group cycle to work followed by a slap up breakfast.  The environmental education centre in South Leeds encourages its staff and volunteers to cycle as much as possible to reduce its impact on the environment.

This year’s Volunteers’ Week has seen a wide range of volunteering opportunities on offer at Skelton Grange Environment Centre in South Leeds.  Young people have been finding out about all the activities on offer at the environmental education centre, which offers themed environmental days for primary schools across Leeds and Wakefield.

BTCV's Skelton Grange Environment Centre in Leeds last week celebrated the achievements of volunteers in a special 'Spring into Action' event held at the centre.

Spring was in the air at Skelton Grange Environment Centre on Good Friday, as nearly a hundred National Grid employees and their families took part in an exciting Easter egg hunt.  Children followed trails leading them all over the Centre's wildlife gardens, following clues so they could claim their chocolate prizes!

The woodland came to the city this weekend with a fun packed day of bushcraft and woodland craft activities at Skelton Grange Environment Centre.  Over a hundred people visited the centre on Saturday 15th March to get some hands-on experience in hurdle making, willow weaving, felt making and even Ray Mears style bushcraft activities!

Children visiting Skelton Grange Environment Centre in South Leeds during National Science and Engineering Week had a great time getting stuck into the outdoor environment and learning all about the natural sciences.  National Science and Engineering Week is an opportunity for people of all ages, areas and organisations to take part in science, engineering and technology activities, and took place between 7th and 16th March.

Volunteers at Skelton Grange Environment Centre in South Leeds have been learning new skills and helping wildlife, by taking part in a series of volunteering events for young people.  And there's still time for more people to get involved!

Would you like to help wildlife, improve the environment and learn some new skills? Then Skelton Grange Environment Centre can help.  The environmental education centre in South Leeds is holding a range of volunteering events for young people who would like to do something different for a day.

Pupils from St Joseph's Catholic Primary School in Hunslet have found a great way to turn their school's old food waste into something useful, by launching a new composting scheme with help from the 'Sort-It' recycling project.

A tree planting extravaganza has been taking place at Skelton Grange Environment Centre during National Tree Week.  Volunteers have been planting hundreds of native tree species in the grounds of the environmental education centre in South Leeds, creating new woodland areas and hedgerows.

Children at Oakwood Primary School in East Leeds have done their bit for National Tree Week by planting a new hedgerow using native tree species, kindly provided by National Grid.

Leeds local businesses have been doing their bit for the environment, with staff taking a break from the routine by volunteering for a day at Skelton Grange Environment Centre in South Leeds.

Hard working volunteers have been helping Skelton Grange Environment Centre to provide an inspiring natural environment for visiting children to explore.  The environmental education centre in South Leeds has been holding a range of volunteering events, and there's still time to get involved!  Volunteers have been constructing new footpaths, creating a storytelling area, and cutting the hedgerows back into shape.

Spike the giant wheelie bin has just visited his 200th school, encouraging children to recycle their rubbish as part of the innovative SORT IT schools recycling project.

Newts of all shapes and sizes put in an appearance at Skelton Grange Environment Centre's monthly Wildlife Club on Sunday 30th September, together with a few toads!  The children spent the afternoon pond dipping at the Centre's beautiful wildlife ponds, where they found lots of young newts, followed by a woodland walk where adult newts were spotted hiding under logs.  The children learnt all about newts and their life cycles, and even played some newt-themed games!

A group of children from Middleton have been exploring the wildlife ponds of Skelton Grange Environment Centre during World Water Week.  The children got involved in a range of outdoor activities including pond-dipping, minibeast hunting, den building and fire lighting, and found out how exciting the natural world can be!

Children from All Saints’ CE Primary School in East Leeds have been getting mucky, getting active and getting green fingers!  They have been taking part in an innovative new project called School Green Gym, which aims to get kids more active through activities that also benefit the environment.

Hundreds of people basked in the summer sunshine at Skelton Grange Environment Centre’s Open Day on Saturday 9th June. The environmental education centre opened its doors to visitors of all ages who enjoyed woodland storytelling, face painting, drumming circles, and exploring the Centre’s beautiful wildlife areas by following a nature trail.

Four young people have been given the opportunity to indulge their passion for education and the environment, thanks to the new ‘V placement’ scheme at Skelton Grange Environment Centre in South Leeds. 

A celebration of Spring took place at Skelton Grange Environment Centre on Good Friday, as nearly 100 National Grid employees, family and friends took part in an Easter Egg hunt across the Centre’s wildlife area.  Families solved clues and followed a trail to claim their Easter egg prizes.

Over 2,000 events are taking place between 9th and 18th March to celebrate National Science and Engineering Week to raise awareness, appreciation and understanding of science, engineering and technology. Young people visiting Skelton Grange Environment Centre in Leeds have had a great time getting stuck into the outdoor environment learning all about the natural sciences.

Children from St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Hunslet experienced the welcome warmth of a blazing campfire on a cold and blustery day in Bradley Wood, Brighouse.  This was the grand finale of a six-week session of outdoor activities in the woodland as part of the Branch Out project, run by BTCV Skelton Grange Environment Centre and Groundwork Leeds, with the generous support and employee involvement from the HSBC in the Community Programme. The project works with children from Leeds, providing positive, fun outdoor experiences within a woodland environment.

A group of young people enjoyed their first experience of environmental volunteering at Skelton Grange Environment Centre on Wednesday 20th December.  The midwinter event gave the volunteers the opportunity to construct a new recycling area for the Centre, and create willow sculptures to decorate the building and wildlife garden.

Kids are swapping tables and chairs for log circles, pencils for sticks, and maths books for grubby hands as part of an exciting new project in West Yorkshire. Over a twelve week period, two Year 2 classes from Hovingham Primary in Harehills are regularly visiting Bradley Wood, Brighouse. Once a fortnight the children leave the classroom behind to experience a new way of learning, amongst the animals and plants of a beautiful woodland.

Hundreds of people enjoyed a great green end to the summer at Skelton Grange Environment Centre’s Open Day last weekend. The environmental education centre opened its doors to visitors of all ages who enjoyed exploring nature trails round the wildlife area, listening to storytelling in the woods, and rocking to the sounds of the Casablanca steel band.

Fairy trails, blind rope mazes, meadow minibeast hunts and villages of stone people were just some of the activities being run by Skelton Grange Environment Centre last week, to help families to explore their Local Nature Reserves. The days were part of a wider programme of Leeds City Council funded events occurring throughout Leeds in order to join a two-week nation-wide celebration of Local Nature Reserves.

Put Saturday, 23rd September in your diaries for our open day!

Leaving the cars at home to promote green transport

A new meadow has been created at Skelton Grange

Skelton Grange's wildlife club gets composting!

The Civic Trust awards for 2006 were announced on 29th March, and Skelton Grange Environment Centre, near Stourton, Leeds, was amongst those buildings highly commended by this nationally renowned environmental design award scheme.

Celebrating the very successful ten-year partnership between BTCV, National Grid and Leeds City Council, a fruit orchard has been planted at Skelton Grange. The tree include some native Yorkshire varieties and a direct tree-descendant of the famous apple tree which Isaac Newton is said to have sat under when he discovered gravity!