As part of Islington Giving’s commitment to investing in young people, we are funding Islington 
Play Association and Lumpy Hill Adventure Playground to open on Saturdays.
By opening them at weekends when the sites have been usually closed many new children, young people and their families are getting access to new opportunities, such as taking part in sleepovers and camping, often for the first time.
On 17th June 2011 the first of these sleepovers took place, Lucy Benson a playworker at Lumpy Hill spoke to us about the evening:
“Last Saturday 24 children aged between 8 and 12 stayed the night at the Lumpy Hill Adventure Playground.
The weather was appalling but thankfully there was a brief interlude in the downpour in which the children faced the challenge of putting up their dome tents with staff from Lumpy Hill and IPA. The children were in no way put off by the rain. They didn’t complain or moan; they made their tents cosy and comfortable and zipped themselves in.
The children were incredibly excited by their tents and shouted across to each other making plans for sleeping arrangements and rules about shoes and sleeping-bags.
They were finally tempted from their temporary homes by lanterns, which they made from jars tea-lights and string; they sat by a blazing campfire which had a tarpaulin rigged above it to keep off the rain.
‘When you see the lantern from far, it’s like it’s walking on its own, no-one’s got it’ Carry, Lumpy Hill camper
The children’s sense of wonder at experiencing their playground in darkness was palpable. They talked about the crackling of the fire and other unfamiliar sounds around them.
Children ate burgers and one of the older girls began to tell a ghost story, which involved a young girl on a swing which went ‘back and Forth and back and forth’ she wove the tale terrifyingly, drawing all of the children in. This story led to a group exploration of the playground carrying lanterns for light, most of the children scattered hysterically around, searching for the ghosts of children past.
Soon afterwards we had hot chocolate round the campfire and because some children were scared we sang songs and children made up stories with less ghoulish themes. We then had to mop up damp spots and deal with wet pillows before bedtime; it took some of the children a very long time to wind down.
‘I’ve never stayed in a tent before; being on the inside, outside.’Greg, Lumpy Hill camper
The first children were awake at 6.00am and so the whole camp was up by 6.30am, we rekindled the fire and ate bacon butties. Luckily the sun came out for a while and we were able to go on a bug-hunt. A small group of children took pooters into the playground finding insects and sucking them into magnified observation boxes. We uncovered a family of ants and watched them as they nimbly buried their eggs under the earth.
By 11.45am families had taken their children home, there had been no accidents or incidents.
This overnight stay was a real benefit to children who were able to use many of their capabilities and learn new ones,
from solving the puzzle of tent erecting to adapting to strange surroundings, inventing and exploring the narratives of their playground and discovering the worlds of other creatures around them. They built on friendships and were able to empathise and support others and master a range of thoughts and feeling. It was a very successful event and we look forward to the next one.”
Click here to find out more about this exciting project
Islington Giving is supporting Islington Play Association to deliver this innovative project. Click here to find out more about IPA.
The project also needs volunteers, get in contact if you would like to volunteer
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