The Friends of Graham Street Park charity was able to provide free forest school sessions for children in the new community orchard at the Islington open space
The sessions allowed children to embrace nature in a safe place.
They planted vegetables, learned about the newly established community orchard, unravelled the mysteries of composting, became budding authorities on mini-beasts, and unleashed their creativity making nature-inspired keepsakes.
This was made possible after the charity received a £1,000 grant from the Tesco Stronger Starts scheme, which awards grants to charities and community organisations.
Children learn about nature at Graham Street Park (Image: Stronger Starts)
A spokesperson from the charity, Kirstie Wielandt, said: “The demand for these sessions was simply incredible.
“In just three days, we had a whopping 200 local families signing up.
“It’s clear our community is craving more outdoor adventures and hands-on learning.
“We’re really looking forward to hopefully developing a longer-term weekend forest school sessions programme in due course.”
The Stronger Starts scheme, in partnership with the Groundwork charity, aims to support Islington community projects and good causes in the coming years, with thousands of pounds to give away.
Claire De Silva, head of community at Tesco, said: “We’re delighted that we can help groups and charities like WFDA.
“Stronger Starts invites our customers to use their blue tokens to vote for local schemes they feel will benefit children and young people, and it’s so good to see the impact that the funding makes.”
North London shoppers can support their nearest school and children’s groups by dropping the Tesco blue token they receive at checkout into the relevant voting box as they leave the store.
