Rugby club clears path to nature

A Tees Valley rugby club is improving access and biodiversity with a community-backed green project.

Yarm Community Rugby Club has secured over £20,000 from a fundraising campaign to clear overgrown scrubland and create a new 200-metre public path next to its Aislaby Road pitch, part of the Teesdale Way.

The work, which includes bee-friendly planting across 400sq metres, aims to keep walkers off the playing area while boosting local wildlife. 

Dave Jones, chairman at Yarm Community Rugby Club, said: “We’re very much a community club and do as much as we can to give back to the place that we play and where our members live.

“We’ve taken on the Aislaby Road pitch to make sure we have all the space we need to train and play, and while it’s a great facility to have, it quickly became clear that the overgrown footpath was going to be an issue that we had to address.

“We had a brilliant response to our fundraising campaign from individuals and businesses, as well as from our members and sponsors, and we’re now ready to get on with the job.

“The changes we’re going to be making will not only reopen the path and ensure that walkers and dog owners can stay off our pitch, but it will also really help to bring the area back to life by encouraging birds, insects and other local wildlife to thrive. 

A £2000 grant from County Durham-based employer the Banks Group helped the club reach its target, with local firms CG Robinson & Sons and Wilkinsons Landscapes being commissioned to carry out the work this summer.

Dave added: “The funding we’ve had from the Banks Group has been the final piece of the jigsaw for getting this project underway and we’re excited to see how things take shape over the summer.”

Kate Culverhouse, community relations manager at the Banks Group, added: "This is a brilliant project that will make a big difference to both the club and people living in and visiting the local area, and we’re very happy to be supporting the community spirit that Yarm Community Rugby Club is showing by taking it on.”

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