This month ELBA is highlighting the crucial work of the Shadwell Community Project, a Tower Hamlets charity that provides a wide range of collective self-help community activities. Their flagship project is Glamis Adventure Playground, a vibrant, creative and free place for children to play during the summer months and beyond. With many local children living in poverty and with limited access to outdoor space, the playground provides an outdoor respite that allows children to explore and grow.  By focusing on eating well and encouraging outdoor activities, the organisation plays an important role in empowering young people, encouraging a healthy lifestyle, and bringing communities together.

Trustee Ros Toynbee told us more about the organisation and the role they play.

What does Shadwell Community Project do?
We are known for our heritage adventure playground, which has been providing a space for children and young people to play freely for the last thirty years. We also have a healthy eating café where kids learn how to grow, prepare, cook and eat vegetarian food.

What challenges do the children you work with face?
Tower Hamlets – and in particular the Shadwell region – faces some of the worst levels of child poverty in England and Wales. As a result children are stuck in overcrowded flats with no gardens to play, and may be eating poor quality or no hot meals at all. Our project gives kids a place where they can run free, climb up telegraph poles, make dens or bonfires, play in water features, and do a multitude of other creative and cooking activities and just be kids. Different communities also get to mix with one another and make friends, promoting social integration.

Do you have any stories you would like to share?
The children and families that come to the adventure playground love the opportunities that the playground offers:

Boy, 12 years old: “It’s great coming here, I like building stuff out of pallets.”

Girl, 8 years old: “I love playing here with my friend and we get to climb and hide and run, loads more than at school.”

Parent: “It’s great to see children eating and playing together. I haven’t been to a place that serves hot meals to children before.”

What challenges is your organisation currently facing?
We need to replace the current structures in the playground as they have been up for 15 years and are coming to the end of their natural life. We are looking to raise funds to replace these structures with new ones that will thrill children and young people for the next 15 years! We also need people with fundraising and marketing skills and volunteers to get our playground, allotments and café shipshape for the future.

If you are keen to support Shadwell Community Project, please get in touch with Antonia.Williams@elba-1.org.uk to find out how you can help.