Maps of adventures for children of all ages, discovering some secret spaces, some big green places, streets and pockets of wilderness in Hackney...
Produced as part of the Get Hackney Healthy campaign, and supported by Hackney Council, the project was conceived by Hackney's Public Health Communications lead inspired by her childhood love of Rocky Rambler's Wild Walks, and kindly allowed courtesy of Colin Shelbourn.
Outdoor People's role
We researched the walks, wrote the text, and over the summer will be looking at various ways to support the children and communities nearby to #GetInvolved and #GetWalking.
As part of the project, we trained practitioners to give them them the skills and knowledge of their local area, so they would then be able to carry out their own Wild Walk.
In the last couple of years, as well as handing out the maps at the shop and events, we've also done regular free walks for Hackney residents.
Why is this project important?
Every child in London lives within 15 minutes walk of a park and yet one in seven of London's children never go to a green space. In Woodberry Down in North Hackney 48% of children in Y6 are overweight or obese, and yet local green spaces are rarely enjoyed by the 7-14 year olds in the area.
You can download the maps here
If you enjoy your walk let us know on Twitter using #HackneyWildWalks or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/hackneyfis
