A group of creative young people have made a duck house for a pond in Aylesbury. The bespoke build was commissioned by Aylesbury Town Council and was made by a group of autistic young people at a local workshop organised by local charity, Talkback.
Talkback provides autism and learning disability support and service programmes in Buckinghamshire and the surrounding areas. Their programmes are designed around key stages of life to help their members embrace new opportunities, so they can lead the fulfilling lives they want and actively contribute to their community.
The 4ft floating wooden duck house was built by Talkback’s social enterprise, The Accessible Workshop, and was delivered to Walton Pond on Monday 27 February. The workshop covers a wide range of woodworking and practical skills, teaching people how to plan and manage projects, as well as how to market and sell. They have workshops in Aylesbury and High Wycombe.
Aylesbury Town Council has maintained Walton Pond in Aylesbury since 2009. Since then, their Outdoor Maintenance team sustain the area by removing unwanted weeds, clearing algae and cutting back reeds.
The Leader of the Council, Cllr Richard Lloyd was in attendance on Monday afternoon to see the duck house at its new home. He said: “The Town Council is delighted to be able to support Talkback’s Accessible Workshop project. The Town Council saved the pond for the Town in 2009 and we are pleased to be able to continue supporting this vital piece of our environment. I would like to thank everyone that helped build the spectacular duck house which I’m sure will benefit the ducks of Walton Pond for many years to come.”
Neil Sainsbury, Head of Adult Services at Talkback UK, was also in attendance and commented: “We were delighted to have been contacted by the Town Council to carry out this work, it means a lot to our members to be able to contribute to the local community in this way. It’s been wonderful to see how the students have tackled this project and the skills they have developed. They are extremely proud of the finished duck house and are delighted to see it on the pond.”
