Children at Holy Lodge Centre learning about natureDonations

Holly Lodge Centre

May 14, 2018By

Granting urban children chance to discover nature at Outdoor Learning Centre

Holly Lodge Centre is an outdoor learning centre in Richmond Park. Here they’ve adapted their beautiful two-acre nature trail to allow children – including those with even the most complex needs – to access the natural world.

In 2017, over 5,600 children – 678 of whom were disabled – attended Holly Lodge Centre natural world workshops. For some it was their very first encounter with nature. Many of the pupils live in high rise flats and attend schools with tarmac outdoor areas. They met tadpoles, newts, stag beetles and even slugs and snails: some had never seen such creatures before.

In 2018, the Axis Foundation granted £4,000 towards the outdoor learning centre to create more workshops and provide additional transport so that more children can attend.

“This donation is so exciting, giving children living in urban areas the opportunity to get outside and discover for themselves fantastic invertebrates, birds and pond creatures.

“We can immediately see the benefit these children get from being in a natural space, they get so excited to even see ants! It is most amazing for children who struggle in the classroom, their teachers are delighted to see them so enthusiastic to learn about wildlife in our beautiful setting.

“It is vital that children have the opportunity to explore and discover nature; even more so for children with disabilities who have least access to the outside world.

“Thanks to the generous donation from the Axis Foundation we were able to deliver 12 free workshops… The feedback from the sessions was overwhelming positive with 100% of the schools scoring each session with 5 out of 5 for the group enjoying the session and for the session meeting their curriculum requirements” – Anna King, Centre Manager

What the teachers said

  • “Exciting, engaging tasks….. we loved the pollen games, making a tree, potting plants and the leaves’ hunt. It was perfect, thank you so much”
  • “Hands-on pond dipping enthralled our pupils. Very happy with our experiences, we would love a longer day”
  • “The children really enjoyed looking for bugs and lifting logs to see what was underneath them”
  • “The level of detail in each session was really valuable, the class particularly enjoyed the camouflage”
  • “All of it was really good, especially the outdoor activities where the children can get stuck in with nature”

 

 

 

 

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Members of the Choir With No Name sing togetherCommunity

Choir With No Name

May 10, 2018By

Our notes help Community Choir support homeless and socially marginalised through singing

The Choir with No Name (CWNN) is a community choir for people affected by homelessness and marginalisation. CWNN’s vision is that all people have a place they belong. A place where anyone can come and sing their hearts out. Their mission is to enable as many homeless and marginalised people as possible to beat loneliness and build their confidence and skills through singing. Communal singing is proven to be hugely beneficial for both physical and mental health. So, they were delighted to receive a sum of £5,000 from the Axis Foundation.

“We are thrilled to have the support of Axis Foundation. Our London choir is a positive and non-judgmental space where the most isolated members of the community can build up a network of support, grow in confidence, sing away their worries and get themselves back on their feet.”

“The Axis Foundation’s generosity means that we will be able to continue to run rehearsals in central London all year round, reaching more people affected by homelessness in the city and introducing them to the multiple benefits of singing together.”

“We are extremely grateful, thank you!” – Rachel Clare, Fundraising and Communications Manager

More About our Grant

The Axis Foundation’s £5,000 grant will support the music delivery costs of the London choir, including the Choir Director and rehearsal venue hire fees. Support for these costs in 2018/19 will enable them to offer community choir rehearsals 48 weeks of the year, create 12 gig opportunities for members at inspirational venues across the capital and host 12 outreach singing workshops for people at risk of homelessness and marginalised community members.  The community choir project aims to engage with 230 individuals through their rehearsals and outreach programme throughout the year.

More About The Choir with No Name

The Choir with No Name London is based in the borough of Camden but is open to all boroughs in London. They also run choirs in Birmingham and Liverpool, and launched a brand new choir in Brighton in August 2018. In 2017/18 they worked with 764 marginalised adults across all choirs (278 via rehearsals and 486 via outreach singing workshops). CWNN rehearsals are followed by a hot meal and then the opportunity to socialise. Volunteers do the cooking and provide pastoral care and practical support too.

 

 

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