Peterlee and Horden - Down Your Way

Meet the new arrivals along with the other farm animals, pigs and piglets, cows and calves, horses and the reptiles and small mammals in the small animal unit. There will be children’s craft activities and information stands to browse. Diggerland will be attending with some digger games (additional costs apply). There will also be an Easter bonnet competition, hand in your entries before 1.30pm, the winner will be announced at 2pm. First prize is a £20 voucher, with Easter eggs for the two runners up. Entry is £1.50 for adults and £1 child, no concessions. Refreshments will be available or take a picnic.Houghall is a working farm, so please wear appropriate clothing and footwear. Due to the nature of the site this event may not be suitable for wheelchair users or people with limited mobility. Sorry, no dogs.

Castle Eden Dene Natural England volunteers with their well-earned Caring for your Environment Award sent from the County Durham Environmental Partnership.

It’s been a busy year for Horden Parish Council with lots of projects such as the refurbishment of its sports pavilion at Sunderland Road. The building, which includes sports facilities used by local football teams as well as a community area formerly used as a café, has been identified by the council for significant development. In a phased programme of work, the entire building will be restored to its former glory. Future plans will involve a full pitched roof replacement, solar panel installation, geothermal water heating, underfloor heating and the re-opening of the building as a community hall. The parish council has been helped to get the project off the ground by grant donations from Horden’s two Durham County Councillors, June Clark and Paul Stradling, who donated £39,000 towards the project.

East Durham College is welcoming discussions from businesses about sponsorship opportunities at its redeveloped Houghall campus in Durham. The campus, which is the only provider of land-based education courses in County Durham, is undergoing a £12million redevelopment. The college attracts students from as far as Newcastle, Blaydon, Teesside and Northallerton to study animal care, dog grooming, agriculture, arboriculture, equine, floristry, conservation and countryside management. Work to the campus will see the main buildings redeveloped along with a new animal care centre, featuring dog grooming unit and dog agility area, a new indoor equine arena, and new agricultural buildings. Work at the site is going well, and on course to be ready in time for the new academic year in September 2016.

A big thank to Councillor Billy Hill, and ROCKSRUS, for the soil provided for the Cotsford Community Allotment attached to the school. CounHill has also donated an Easter hamper for a raffle. Tickets were drawn at the Mother’s Day lunch on Wednesday.

Gateshead’s Bill Quay Farm will be hosting an open day for its East Durham College -run animal care courses on Saturday from 10am-noon. This will give potential students, looking to start courses in September, the opportunity to meet lecturers and current students at the farm, and view the facilities. The successful partnership between East Durham College and Bill Quay Farm has ran for three years, giving young people from the urban city area of Gateshead and Newcastle the opportunity to study on land-based courses, which cover a mix of theory and practical activities and follow a mix of three pathways: Horticulture, Animal Care and Agriculture.

The Academy at Shotton Hall turned World Book Day into a whole week inspiring staff and students alike to pick up a book. Activities in school all week included Never Ever Ending story, Guess who competition, T-shirt treasure trail, Where’s Wally, Big fat reading quiz of the year and a visit by author Dan Smith to work with Year 7 and 8.