WASTE wood has been transformed into colourful new fencing in a children’s area of one of the country’s finest estates.

Raw Workshop, based in Blackbird Leys, was commissioned to create the crayon-themed border as part of its partnership with Blenheim Palace.

It was freshly installed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site’s play area in the pleasure gardens, ready for the Easter weekend.

Rick Mower, Raw’s CEO, said: “They were looking for new fencing and we thought we could do something a bit more creative with it rather than just the usual posts.

“Collaboratively we came up with this idea and it is fantastic to see it in place, I think it works really well.”

The two organisations teamed up last year as part of the palace’s commitment to running its business in a sustainable way.

Raw has also provided shelving for the estate’s gift shop and runs a waste wood collection service where trees, fencing, pallets and broken furniture are collected and transformed into new products such as gifts and furniture.

The workshop, a social enterprise, trains and supports people who face prejudice and barriers to work and may have experienced issues such as physical or learning difficulties, mental health issues, addiction or criminal records.

Members of the team are referred to them through drug and alcohol addiction and mental health services across the city.

Mr Mower continued: “It is wonderful to be working with a client as prestigious as Blenheim and have our work so prominently featured on the site.

“This is a place that is among the very top tourist destinations in the country.

“It shows that our products can compete with the best in terms of quality.

“The people we work with, who all come from different backgrounds, are able to say ‘something I made is on display at the palace’ – there’s something very powerful in that.”

Blenheim’s sustainability plan, which aims to radically reduce the amount of carbon emissions it produces, also includes using bio, hydro and solar power.

Last month it took delivery of a fleet of new electric vehicles to be used by ground staff whilst they move around the site.

Mr Mower added: “Blenheim has been very visionary in their approach to sustainability and are leading the way in this area.

“They were previously using skip lorries to remove waste wood but with us it’s all being put to good use again and they recognise it also has a social impact in terms of allowing us to support more people.

“But we’re very clear – we want to keep working with the likes of Blenheim because of the quality of our products and services, we believe we can compete with anyone in this regard.”