An adventure playground in Hackney has reopened with the help of hundreds of volunteers.
Local children can visit the reopened Homerton Grove Adventure Playground after 450 volunteers transformed the site over two days last week.
Funding was provided by London firm QubeRT, and employees helped renovate the site, with the work organised by Hackney Play Association (HPA) and veteran’s charity Splash Community Projects.
HPA senior playworker and site manager, Sianead Crawford, said: ” “It’s so important for children to be out in nature and connect with nature, this is their village where they can shape what happens.
“We are in the centre of the community… and our ethos is that the space should be ever-changing.”
She added: “There has been a lot of planning gone into this and it’s taken a lot of organisation to get to this point.
“We have got 250 people on site today and the transformation over the last few days has been absolutely phenomenal.”
Alana, who lives locally, said she likes coming here with her friends after school, adding that having a playground is “very special”.
She said: “We’ve come here for three years – it helps me to stay off my phone and breathe in fresh air.
“The staff here are very nice and made me feel welcome and I’ve made lots of friends.”
Splash project manager, Pete Simmons, said: “It’s kind of an old school playground where kids can test themselves, climb, overcome their fear of heights.
“It’s the kind of place I would have played in growing up.
“Most of these guys, the older generation, would have played in places like this and I think it’s making a comeback, so more power to it.”
This comes as research from Sport England found just 45% of children from less affluent families got their recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per week, compared to 58% of the most affluent.
QRT global business strategy lead, Susanna Teixidor, said: “A lot of people have never used power tools before or had an outdoor experience like this; it’s an opportunity to try something new, have an experiment and be curious.”
She added that the work is “a lot of fun” for employees, adding that several grew up in the area or know children who would benefit from the site.
The play area, which opened in 1974, is one of two adventure playgrounds in Hackney run by HPA.
The joint project is the second for the Association and Splash, while QRT has worked with the charity for four years, having helped on another play area in Hackney last year.
Homerton Grove Adventure Playground is free to use for children after school and during holidays (except on bank holidays).
Featured image credit: Jasmine Urquhart
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