New home for bunnies

Two Rivers and builders’ merchant Travis Perkins have joined forces to help a local charity supporting people with disabilities to build a “˜rabbitarium’.

This wooden building is currently under construction at the Orchard Trust’s smallholding at Lydbrook, and will provide a cosy home for many small animals, as well as a petting area which allows residents and visitors to get up close to them.

The charity, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, provides an environment where service users can interact with livestock including pigs, sheep, rabbits, ducks, chickens and guinea pigs. Helping to care for them gives great therapeutic and emotional benefit.

We have supported the Orchard Trust on several occasions through our Helping Hands staff volunteering scheme, and now we have teamed up with Travis Perkins Community Legacy Fund and provided materials to help create the rabbitarium.

“It’s really important for visitors to see the animals in a happy, normal environment, and the rabbitarium will offer an area where service users can get close to the animals – hold them, stroke them or just watch them – and the animals can run around freely as well,” explained Day Services Manager Phill Hucks (pictured right).

“We rely heavily on donations of both time and money to be able to provide these facilities, and we are extremely grateful for everything we receive. It makes such a difference to what we can do for our visitors.“

The smallholding at Stowfield receives guests from across Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire and volunteers and visitors are always welcome.