Jean Thomas from Friends of Broomfield Park on the benefits of the group’s school visits programme

For the past seven years, the Friends of Broomfield Park (FoBP) group of volunteers has been successfully hosting an annual school visits programme at Broomfield Park.

We have now expanded the programme to include multiple educational workshops and have also extended it to reach more schools within our local community. This year, we have hosted 180 children (in years one and two) from Walker, Bowes and Wolfson Hillel primary schools.

Broomfield Park is a 21-hectare public park and one of the highlights of Palmers Green. FoBP, in conjunction with Enfield Council, maintains and improves the park and many of its features including the wetlands, wildlife pond, baroque water garden, conservatory and orchard.

Through the programme, we offer the opportunity for schools to explore the biodiversity of our wetlands through a hands-on water filtration experiment. Children will construct a filtration device using a cut water bottle, muslin cloth, bark, stones, and leaves. They will pour dirty water into one half of the bottle and collect clean water in the other half. This activity is a favourite and, at the end, the children are treated to a unique song by one of our volunteers describing the benefits of wetland habitats!

The children also get to learn about bees and pollination. They have the chance to try on a beekeeper’s suit, observe an empty hive, and understand the roles of queen, worker, and drone bees. As a fun activity to end the session with, they get to create a picture of the hive, bees, and pollen sources to take back to school.

In our orchard, also known as the ‘secret garden’, they get to discover 40 different varieties of apples and wildflowers. Children participate in a wildflower hunt and choose their favourite flower to press; a nice souvenir to take home! They also get to witness the fascinating life in and around the lakes. If fortunate, our resident swan couple, Julia and Caesar, may even put on a captivating show.

Our dedicated army of volunteers generously contribute their time to design, plan and deliver these sessions. These volunteers come from a range of backgrounds including teachers, GPs, microbiologists, corporate business and many more. Our planning spans across a period of six months, during which we recruit fresh volunteers and organise induction events to familiarise them with our workshops. Additionally, we collaborate with schools to determine their availability and incorporate their curriculum into our sessions.

The children are always excited and eager to bring their parents to the park after the workshops, showcasing the spaces they have explored. On their way back to school, they often joyfully sing the wetlands song.

In order to expand our workshops to additional schools, we are seeking a larger group of volunteers to support these sessions. We are optimistic that more individuals will step forward to support the programme and pass on their knowledge to the next generation. Our aim is for our young eco-warriors to share this knowledge with others in the local community, raising awareness about the significance of preserving the ecosystem and biodiversity at Broomfield Park. We look forward to resuming our programme in spring 2025.

To learn more about the FoBP school visits programme:
Visit fobp.uk/school-visits

If you are interested in volunteering with FoBP:
Visit fobp.uk/volunteers

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