Grow Wild, a nature and adventure play space run by the Lloyd Park Children’s Charity are aiming to raise £45,000 to cover essential repairs, maintain staffing levels, and ensure the centre remains open for local children and families

Credit; Grow Wild/Lloyd Park Children’s Charity

Grow Wild, a nature and adventure play space run by the Lloyd Park Children’s Charity in Walthamstow, East London. Grow Wild has been serving the local community for twelve years, offering children a safe and creative environment to play and develop social skills. However, due to funding challenges and cuts, the site faces the risk of closure or staff reductions.

The goal is to raise £45,000 to cover essential repairs, maintain staffing levels, and ensure the centre remains open for local children and families. Donations will help sustain the site and revamp services for 2025-26, offering a safe space for children to grow in resilience, creativity, and mental wellbeing.

In a statement on their GoFundMe appeal, William van der Byl and Chris Rowley, from the Lloyd Park Children’s Charity said: “We want to stay open and accessible for the thousands of families locally and from afar who use and rely upon our space. Monies are needed to ensure essential repairs and maintenance to the site, so that our children from as young as four months to as old as ten years can use the site safely and with confidence, able to access risky and creative play in a busy urban area. Also, so staffing levels can be maintained so that the centre can continue to be open each and every day in all weathers, to best serve the needs of the community.

“We are looking to raise £45,000 In order for the centre to maintain itself and regenerate funding for year 2025-26 revamping our services, mirroring the needs of our communities and families, beyond offering play, physical challenge and creativity, we provide a safe space for enabling social skills, improved mental wellbeing, independence and resilience.”

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