A Day of Discovery!

On Thursday, July 25th, we had the immense pleasure of partnering with the Alton Renewal Plan to host a special Alton Family Day at The Holly Lodge Centre. This fantastic event welcomed residents and their families from the Alton Estate in Roehampton for a day of fun and learning.

A huge thank you to Paul, our wonderful volunteer bus driver from The Royal Parks, who not only provided comfortable transport to and from our centre but also shared fascinating facts about Richmond Park, getting everyone excited for the day ahead!

We hosted both morning and afternoon sessions, welcoming nine families (35 guests) in total. Despite many being familiar with Richmond Park, this was their first visit to our centre – and we loved introducing them to our unique space!

The day kicked off in our picnic area with refreshments and a delightful array of Victorian toys. From quoits and skittles to yo-yos and wooden acrobats, these classic games were a brilliant icebreaker, sparking conversations and laughter with some friendly challenges.

Exploring Our Wonderful Centre

Families then embarked on an exciting exploration of our centre’s various areas. We delved into the outdoor learning tent, the charming Victorian garden, the historic Victorian classroom, and our engaging nature trail. Along the way, guests had a wide variety of activities and crafts to choose from, ensuring there was something for everyone!

Activities included:

• Making scarecrows
• Planting seeds
• Picking fresh herbs and beans
• Creating beautiful wind wands
• Thrilling pond dipping
• Log rolling
• Blowing frog spawn bubbles
• Crafting frog life cycle ponds
• …and much more!

Heartfelt Feedback from Our Guests

Everyone had a truly enjoyable time, with both children and adults fully engaged and offering overwhelmingly positive feedback. Here’s what some of our guests had to say:

• “This is a hidden treasure. Everything was wow.”
• “Myself and my son had an amazing afternoon. Full of information and new skills learnt. The staff we worked with are amazing.”
• “Having a worker/volunteer to take us round and do the activities made it very personal. Warm and friendly. We enjoyed working in the kitchen garden and making the wands. The pond dipping, amazing to see how many different things live in there and how fast they dart around. We drive through the park occasionally but it’s nice to stop and be part of it.”
• “I saw spiders and slugs. Looking for bugs was the best thing.”
• “The volunteers were great with keeping the children engaged whilst involving the adults. Loved the broad bean picking and pond dipping. The bus driver was amazing with providing interesting facts and info on the drive up to the park, got everyone excited for the visit.”

A Resounding Success!

This was a truly fabulous community engagement event, and its success has us eager to repeat it. We’ve even promised to extend the sessions next time, as everyone commented that the time flew by too quickly and they didn’t want to leave! We can’t wait to welcome more families for another day of exploration and fun.