WideHorizons Outdoor Centre Funding Cut

14th February 2011

Greenwich Council is looking to make savings by cutting the funding for Widehorizons Outdoor Education Trust's environmental curriculum centre in Eltham. Its £132,000 contract had been up for renewal in 2014 but the charity are now saying that they will not be able to run the nine-acre site unless new funding is found. Centre head Lucy Nettleton said: "We have a long history of children and adults enjoying their visits here as well as teachers developing their outdoor teaching skills. As far as I know, there is no other purpose built educational site in London, with such a diversity, that delivers environmental and outdoor education to young people and the community." The centre provides over 11,000 children aged from three to 18 years with outdoor activities to complement subjects like maths and science, providing access to ponds, streams and woodland. It also holds orienteering events and provides teacher training. A spokesman for Greenwich Council said: "The phasing out of council funding from 2013/14 is part of the long-term plans and was built into the contract to reflect a shared goal of enabling the trust to become self-sufficient."
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