Barnsley school children visit Evri parcel hub

On Thursday 21st March, 54 year two children from the school, which is located half a mile from Evri’s facility, took the time to get a behind-the-scenes look around the 55-acre site (around 42 football pitches) which takes parcels from nearby retailer warehouses and distributes parcels across the country. Gareth Shawcroft, Head of Hub, and the hub team led the students on a tour explaining how parcels are received, sorted, and dispatched for delivery - typically spending less than 3 minutes travelling 13km of conveyor belt at the site.

The children were able to experience the journey of a parcel in practice by placing their own parcels on the belt to see how they travel – swiftly arriving back on their desks before the end of the school day!

The students also got up close with Evri’s electric vans and bio-methane compressed natural gas vehicles (which run on gas produced from food waste) to learn about the importance of road safety and what can be seen from the driver’s cab. More than 25,000 shrubs and trees were planted at Evri’s site when it opened just before Christmas 2022.

In the lead up to Earth Day, the children have helped increase than number by taking part in a planting activity, promoting environmental awareness. The children ended the day with a toy car racing, and hub of the future building competition, with prizes awarded for the winners. Every child left the visit with a smile on their face and a miniature Evri truck in their bag as a reminder of the day.

At the end of the day, the children were asked about their favourite parts and they loudly agreed, “Evri-thing!”

Gareth Shawcroft, Head of Hub at Evri, said: “We were delighted to welcome the local children to our hub, the visit was a great opportunity for the children to learn about the important role Evri plays in keeping the country connected and to see how we are working towards a more sustainable future.”