The
Oxford charity ‘Restore’ have received a new ECHO chainsaw donated by UK
distributor Ariens Company Limited, whose UK head office is in Great Haseley.
Restore
provides innovative rehabilitation employment and training support for people
with mental health problems, providing gardening, allotment and craft activities
to assist the process. The charity’s gardening activities are centred around
the development and management of beautiful, restful and publicly-accessible
gardens at each of their sites. Members benefitting from their work are
involved in all the activities from planning layouts, designing planting
schemes and then carrying out the work to create and maintain the gardens.
The
ECHO chainsaw is a lightweight CS-310 with a powerful 30.5cc Stage 2 low
emission engine, ideal for pruning and logging and it will be put to use in
three of Restore’s recovery group sites two in Oxford and one in Didcot. Chrissie
Jones, Recovery Co-ordinator at Restore has used ECHO tools for the past ten
years and attested to their quality.
Brian
Corcoran, Gardening Facilitator at Restore says "We're very pleased
that Ariens Company has given us this fantastic chainsaw. It will be
put to great use when we're coppicing our willow and hazel in the autumn and
removing self-set trees on our allotment sites."
Darren
Spencer, European Manager at Ariens Company Limited added: “We’re also very happy
to see ECHO tools making such a worthwhile contribution to helping people enjoy
gardening and gaining confidence to get back into work.”
The
outcomes for those participating in the activities run by the charity are a
sense of achievement - leading to improved self-confidence and self-esteem.
They enjoy improved social contact, reduced isolation and better teamwork
skills through working with others. There are also opportunities to learn new
skills with the possibility of a formal qualification for those who want to
take one.
Overall, physical as well as mental health can be improved through
participation in outdoor activities. As one member at Restore says: “I’ve just
started gardening and I imagined I’d get all wet and dirty, but I love it - seeing
things grow that we planted… Four weeks ago I started part-time temp work
again. When I was ill I thought that I would never work again. I feel so much
more positive – I actually have a future.” For more information about Restore
visit www.restore.org.uk or call (01865) 455
822. For details of ECHO power tools visit www.echo-tools.co.uk or call 0800
597 7777.
