Niamh with the new sign
GARDEN PARTY, July 6th 2011
We invited lots of local families, local councillors and press along to eat home made cakes, drink tea, pick some fruits and plant salad seeds. Ex park manager and local governor, Liz Leverton came along as did several members of the local press. And of course parents, grandparents and childminders turned up in force so that the buggy park was completely overflowing.
Garden Party
Niamh Bays welcomed everyone before Jo Homan explained how the project had come into being and what we hoped to achieve. She thanked all the centre staff and the parents, especially Juliette Darby and Lynne Eva, for their hard work in creating the Keep Jamboree Open campaign. Then it was time for Niamh to unveil the sign, amid much clapping and photo taking. Juliette thanked everyone for coming and added, "if you've got time, please take a moment to contact your local councillor and keep up the pressure on Haringey Council to keep Jamboree open." People can also sign the online petition email [email protected] or write to Jen Johnson, 3rd fl, 48 Station Rd, N22 7TY.
Little Flowers
BACKGROUND TO FINSBURY FRUITS
We built 8 raised beds at Jamboree about a year ago, using money from Haringey Council. It was part of the Greenest Borough Strategy and is also one of Sustain's Capital Growth sites. The beds are now full of lovely edible plants and we're very proud of all the hard work the children, parents, grandparents, childminders and Jamboree play centre workers have put in. Many attendees do not have gardens so really enjoy the informal gardening sessions. We've just finished putting up the multilingual signs and decided to have a Garden Party to celebrate what we hope will be a long term project, one that will educate and delight for many years. Finsbury Fruits was part of the Open Garden Squares Weekend and is a highly valued local food growing project. Where other projects have failed due to lack of security or stakeholder commitment, this project has been an example of co-operation and participation; a real success story.
Juliette
Jamboree staff and Liz Leverton
JAMBOREE PLAYHUTS is a very popular sessional 'stay and play' facility that was opened by the GLC 37 years ago. Everybody loves bringing their kids because the staff are so friendly and competent and we appreciate their professionalism and support. Jamboree caters for a diverse range of local families, many of whom are dependent on the fact that it is a donation only service and it is a major feature of life for anyone with kids under 5. Finsbury Fruits would not have happened without the ongoing support of Jamboree staff. We hope that Haringey Council will decide to preserve this service because it is truly outstanding.
preparing for press shot
More project photos here
