Historic Croydon Garden to Host “Wilderness Sundays” as Part of Intergenerational Programme

A historic Croydon Garden will be opening its doors and welcoming members of the community into the garden.

The venue, MHA The Wilderness is a seven-acre historic garden situated within MHA Hall Grange care home.

MHA The Wilderness provides opportunities for skill – building through its heritage as well as revealing a rich tapestry of stories that will come alive through the reawakening of the garden.

The Wilderness Sundays will be a free of charge event aimed at community members and will run one Sunday every month starting with the first one on November 27, between 10am-3pm.

The purpose of Wilderness Sundays is to encourage members of the community to visit the garden and familiarise themselves with such a beautiful landmark within their locality.

Susanne Haynes, community coordinator for the Wilderness said: “The Wilderness Sundays have been designed to encourage local community members to visit The Wilderness and see what we have to offer.

“As part of our intergenerational programme we want to cater for all ages and offer educational sessions for families to get involved in.

“During the Sunday sessions me and Lucy James, the service manager for the Garden will be guiding the conservation volunteers who will be coming in to serve refreshments.

“There will also be the chance for those visiting to see pieces of history including pottery and glass that we’ve found as we’ve dug about.

“Moving forward, I’ll be running Wildlife sessions for families to encourage them to think about creating habitats in their garden for insects, birds and other wildlife.

“These will start in February when we’ll be making bird food balls and seed bombs which include the Shirley Poppy seed as Valentine gifts to loved ones and wildlife.

“All the events will be free of charge, but visitors will have the option to pay as they feel, which will enable us to further enhance our sessions.”