One of Birmingham’s oldest charities, the Birmingham Boys and Girls Union was established in 1906. 60 years ago, the charity moved to its current location, an extensive outdoor learning centre – the Woodlands Adventure.
The Woodlands Adventure offers disadvantaged and disabled children the opportunity to engage in outdoor activities, and the site is set up to be accessible to every child, regardless of need or disability. The charity focuses on giving these children and young adults valuable life experiences, learning and fun in the great outdoors, they wouldn’t otherwise receive. Situated on 36 acres of beautiful countryside, Woodlands Adventure features activities including canoeing, camping, climbing tower with abseiling, an assault course, high ropes course and two different zip lines.
The Project
Winter 2017 saw the charity face the loss of its lakeshores due to erosion issues. Initially, the erosion was held back with the installation of timber railway ties, and by this point, they’d been in the ground for decades. With the timber rotting away and the railway ties no longer serving their purpose, the charity looked for a more sustainable option.
Darren Nutting with the Woodlands Adventure did his research on replacement options for the timber railway ties and settled on Liniar’s 100% recycled PVCu log pile. The log pile, designed by Liniar, is coated in a wood plastic composite, which allows the growth of algae and moss on the product, as well as giving the look and feel of timber. For more decorative purposes, Liniar’s log pile can even be stained with a water-based wood stain.
“Liniar’s log pile not only achieved the natural look we required but also served us as a long-term solution,” explains Darren.
“After only the first phase of the project, we’ve already reclaimed three metres of land, which we were set to lose due to erosion from a lake and stream surrounding a section of land.”
The initial phase of the project saw the installation of 40 metres of Liniar log pile, with the second phase only beginning. Another 37 metres of log pile is due to be installed before Christmas.
Overcoming Challenges
The first challenge the Woodlands Adventure faced was funding. The project is ongoing with a minimum of four stages required, and because it involves funding from grant-giving charities, the project could take up to seven years to complete.
Once Birmingham Boys and Girls Union secured funding, the product was ordered and delivered, and work commenced the real challenges surfaced. Part of the property where Woodlands Adventure installed the log pile was very rocky and required more than the standard rubber mallet for installation. To work in the more difficult areas of terrain use of a digger bucket was needed.
After the completion of the first phase of work, the charity was thrilled with the results and look forward to completing the future stages of the project.
Liniar’s log pile is available for a wide variety of applications, from securing land against erosion and creating drainage for agriculture to shoring up walls at inland marinas and creating terraces in home developments built on sloping terrain. Made from 100% recycled materials and environmentally friendly, Liniar’s log pile was the perfect solution for Woodlands Adventure.
Woodlands Adventure was surprised by how much land they’ve retained because of the log pile and was happy that the product looked like timber without having to worry about it rotting again in the future.
For more information about Birmingham Boys and Girls Union or the Woodland Adventure, visit their website: https://woodlandsadventure.co.uk
