The North of England’s gas distributer, Northern Gas Networks (NGN) is supporting Tadcaster East Community Primary School with a £2,000 contribution towards an ambitious on-site wildlife project.

NGN is currently carrying out an essential upgrade to Tadcaster’s gas infrastructure, replacing ageing metal pipes with new, more durable plastic ones.

The £180,000 project, which began on York Road last month, involves replacing 2.5km of pipes. Lee Crowley is the site manager for the project and is fully supportive of the donation from NGN.

The scheme is registered as a Considerate Constructor Scheme site, and as part of the Scheme’s pledges, NGN’s Customer Care team visit local schools and charities to explore ways of making a difference to the lives of people living where engineers are working.

Customer Care Officer Hannah Thompson visited the primary school to hear more about how NGN could help support them, and discovered they needed a pond cover to protect wildlife and keep children safe when the pond isn’t being used for learning.

The Pond And Beyond is a wildlife and tree planting project which has been created to give Tadcaster East pupils the opportunity to learn more about nature and enjoy the great outdoors, whilst encouraging plenty of interesting species to the area.

Ruth Griffin, Administrator for Tadcaster East Community Primary School said: ‘’Ponds attract an enormous range of living creatures such as dragonflies, frogs and newts. A pond provides a wealth of interest to children and highlights the circle of life.  We intend to use the pond for pond dipping to enrich the children’s learning experience and to get them into the great outdoors.

“A cover will help protect the wildlife and keep pupils safe, so the donation from NGN is brilliant news.”

Lee Cowley, Site Manager at Northern Gas Networks said: ‘’We’re delighted to be able to support Tadcaster East Community School by donating £2,000 for a pond cover to keep children and wildlife safe.’’

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