On World Earth Day Crosby Soroptimists and a host of other invited guests celebrated the official opening of Lunt Meadows Learning Centre.
SI Crosby’s long-term project is at Lunt Meadows Nature Reserve. It is partnership with the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside (LWT) and other institutions.
The 5-year project – ‘Presenting Mesolithic and Modern Life’ – has been grant-aided through the National Heritage Lottery Fund. Its focus has been the construction of a learning centre.
Through the challenges of Covid, Brexit, planning issues, flooding (and much more) the dream has finally become reality. The centre is poised to host educational, social and skills-based activities, triggered by the Mesolithic archaeology and unique environment of the reserve. It will also be a focal point for local community groups and a welcome resource for the many volunteers at the reserve.
The Soroptimists have donated a KnifeSavers’ bleed control kit (mounted on an external wall) and baby-changing equipment. The main internal toilets have been twinned with a latrine in the Democratic Republic of Congo. (The external compost toilet was twinned with a loo in Malawi in 2021.)
Members are now in discussion with LWT staff to determine how SI Crosby can contribute to the ‘legacy’ of the funded project beyond 2025.