Our longest running project is at Tollyrise Happiness Garden in Islington, where the mud kitchen is the most used and most loved area. With the least public green space of any London borough and high levels of overcrowding, the opportunity this area gives children to play freely, get messy and explore nature is invaluable.
After over three years in the garden, our mud kitchen area is quite literally falling apart. The stacks of wooden pallets cobbled together are rotting and becoming unsafe. The second-hand donated mud kitchen has collapsed. We're close to having nothing left in that space.
Our friends at Woodland Tribe - experts in collaborative building with children - have given us a quote for a mud kitchen build, for something beautiful, stimulating, multi-purpose, more accessible, and built to last.
The garden is open to the community at all times, not just when we run our sessions. We leave our mud kitchen equipment out to be played with when we're not there, and we know it gets used by local families. A visually stunning permanent mud kitchen would draw in more families, make the garden more child friendly and provide an exciting place to play during our winter break.
Always free, for everyone
We are utterly committed to our sessions being completely free and inclusive to everyone. Play is the right of every child and shouldn’t be commodified as a product to be sold. Therefore we rely on grants and donations to keep our sessions free. If you are able, please donate here - money raised will go towards purchasing resources and new equipment, or extra play sessions.
Our free play sessions aim to address inequality by being accessible to families who may have little disposable income to spend on children's activities, and provide the chance to play in a much needed green space, especially for those living in overcrowded housing with no outside space of their own. Our regular play sessions happen in the boroughs of Islington, Newham and Camden, all of which have high levels of child poverty.
Cardboard boxes (especially BIG ones), art and craft supplies.
Fabric, sheets, old curtains.
Toy dinosaurs/animals, cars, dressing-up clothes, dump trucks/diggers, ride-ons, push toys, paddling pools, garden play equipment, ball pool balls, play tents.
Mud kitchen items - pots, pans and utensils, real kitchen appliances like kettles, scales, coffee makers, microwaves. Small water butts, spades.
Household items, for example computer keyboards, telephones, typewriters, briefcases, handbags, picnic hampers.
Tools, nails, wood off-cuts.
Random things! Could be storage boxes, buckets, yoga blocks, gym balls, baby baths, shopping trolley frames, mannequins, acrylic mirrors, shelves, step stools, cot frames, guttering, wheels, tyres, crates, pallets.
Spare clothes, waterproofs and wellies for messy play and rainy days.
We also welcome donations of resources and equipment! We're happy to take anything you think might be interesting to play with. You can bring donations along to either of our sessions but if you have anything large or heavy please get in touch first to check we have space.
Here are some examples of items we would welcome:
