Epping Playground Association

The parent volunteer team of trustees for the Epping Playground Association have made significant steps towards their first fundraising target of £60,000. Thanks to the financial support of Epping residents, businesses, grants and both Town and District Councils, at the time of going to print the project has raised over £22,000. This amounts to half of the toddler section of the playground. One of the three play areas in current plans designed for 0-6, 6-12 and 12+ age ranges. The first fundraising target is £60,000, which represents both half of the total redevelopment project cost and also the amount required for charities to bid for some of the bigger national grants, such as National Lottery funding.

Events

Since the end of May the charity has run a children’s colouring competition, with prizes presented by the Mayor. The town’s children were able to offer their opinions on how they’d like their playground to look.

June saw #WalkEpping and #ActiveEpping challenges. Local activity providers including UKA Karate, Coopersale Yoga 2020 and DenMonk Aerial Yoga raised significant funds for the charity as Epping residents were encouraged to get active. In July the team, including volunteers, were at the Epping Town Show, raising over £1000 on the day.

Could your business support our fundraising efforts?

We’re working with Kompan and Epping Town Council to create a shopping list of playground items. If you or your business could sponsor an item please get in touch with the Trustee team for the project proposal and shopping list via the email: eppingplaygroundassociation@gmail.com

Save the Date: Sunday September 26th

In September we’ll host an official launch event at Lower Swaines Recreation ground.

Why do we ALL need to help to build a better playground for our children?

1 There is no longer dedicated funding for playgrounds from central government or grants from third sector institutions. Provision falls to local authority budgets which are reducing.

2 There is now a strong evidence base that shows a correlation between an increasingly screen-based, sedentary, reduced-sleep lifestyle, declining outdoor physical activity and poor physical and mental health for our children. Attractive, free and local playground provision is a vital ingredient in ensuring the healthy development of our whole community.

3 The outdoor, public spaces that we all share, such as parks and playgrounds, became lifelines in terms of physical and mental health during the Covid pandemic. One in 8 households in the UK have no outdoor space. As trustees we believe that children’s needs must be at the heart of Covid recovery. Playgrounds are the heart of the community and we want ours to be a place that allows, parents, grandparents, neighbours and children from all walks to life to meet and reconnect after this pandemic. Our playground design reflects this.

You can donate to the Epping Playground Association (registered charity no. 1186576) using DONATE via: http://easydonate.org/EPAPLAY

Or simply text your donation using the following numbers:

To donate £1, text EPAPLAY to 70201To donate £3, text EPAPLAY to 70331

To donate £5, text EPAPLAY to 70970To donate £10, text EPAPLAY to 70191

“Epping Playground Association needs to raise funds for this and for other charitable purposes.”

Fundraising, payments and donations will be processed and administered by the National Funding Scheme (Charity No: 1149800), operating as DONATE. Texts will be charged at your standard network rate. For Terms & Conditions, see www.easydonate.org

The value of Green front gardens by the Epping Society

Looking around us and the open spaces in Epping, particularly with Epping Forest on our doorstep, it probably seems that we have more than sufficient green spaces but there is always the opportunity to provide more.

The Epping Society exists to preserve and enhance Epping and its surroundings for all our residents and in a small way we all contribute via our front gardens. During lockdown we have all appreciated the trees and flowers around us so much more and research by The Royal Horticultural Society shows this has a measurable impact on our wellbeing.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/press/releases/Scientific-research-showsthat-greener-front-garde

Their research shows - including a few plants in a bare front garden could reduce your stress levels as much as eight weekly mindfulness sessions. So whilst we might be tempted to provide parking in our front gardens, just leaving a little patch of a flowerbed or planting a small tree make such a difference to how we feel when we step outside. It also provides a home for wildlife such as insects and birds, and slows the runoff of rain, thus reducing the risk of flooding. Just a small area of green plants contributes to the overall value for everyone when we all are mindful of the potential of our front gardens.

Epping Monday Market

Epping Monday market is now fully open after the recent health restrictions. You will find lots of your favourite traders, but also some new casual traders, selling additional itemes. We hope to be able to welcome more traders to join us in the coming months.

If anyone is trialling a new business and would like to showcase their ideas on the Monday market, please contact us for details on how to rent a stall on a casual basis.

Epping is not the same without its market, so please visit our traders and High Street and enjoy shopping safely in our historic Charter Market. We hope to reintroduce some events on the Monday market moving forwards. Look out for musicians in the future.

For more details, contact: info@eppingtowncouncil.gov.uk or telephone: 01992 579444.

Epping Town Council grants

Epping Town Council invite grant applications from local organisations. More details and eligibility can be found on our new website: The grant must benefit residents of Epping Parish (Epping, Coopersale, Fiddlers Hamlet.) www.eppingtowncouncil.gov.uk under grants.

Submission deadlines: 1st September and 1st March each year. Please make sure you are eligible before you apply.

Community groups micro grants

If your organisation needs £500 towards its one off project, we can put you in touch with a micro grant scheme, funded by Essex County Council. Please email: info@eppingtowncouncil.gov.uk marked ‘Micro grant enquiry’ for details.