Welding students at East Coast College have been putting their skills to good use building a unique patio log burner to auction off for charity.
The car themed log burner was designed and created by Level 1 and Level 3 welders at the college’s Great Yarmouth campus, supported by staff, to raise money for two animal charities – Norfolk and Suffolk Animal Trust and Foxy Lodge Wildlife Rescue.
Welding, Fabrication and Joining Technologies lecturer, Douglas Lawrence, said they embarked on the project to showcase the artistic and creative side to welding, as well as raising money for two local causes.
He said: “My students have been working so hard on this project and I’m so proud of the creativity and dedication they have shown. The finished product looks brilliant.
“From a teaching point of view, it has also enabled me to show them some extra skills in fabrication problem solving which will further enhance their knowledge. And it has helped my students think about the communities they live in and how they can do something positive to help.”
The two charities were chosen by the students as a way of showing their support to Mr Lawrence who sadly lost his beloved dog Pearl during the pandemic.
“Having rescued dogs before, it prompted me to think of these small local animal charities that sometimes get overlooked and struggle to make ends meet,” he said. “They provide a second chance to many animals that either get abandoned or injured, but really need more support to help with the great work that they do. It was wonderful to have the support of my students on this during what was a sad time for me.”
The project forms part of the Good for Me Good for FE campaign, spearheaded by London South East Colleges, East Coast College and Loughborough College. It aims to generate £1m of social value via a sustainable programme of community action including volunteering, fundraising and charitable partnerships.
Over 120 hours were clocked by the welding students and staff during the design and build of the log burner, taking East Coast College’s total social action time for the academic year to over 5,000 hours.
The log burner will be going up for auction on the East Coast College GY Welding Facebook page from Monday, February 7th with the bidding closing at noon on Friday, February 25th.