Discovering Barham Park our wild place

For our John Muir Family Award journey, we decided to focus our activity on our local park, Barham Park. Located in the London Borough of Brent, [Grid ref:TQ171851 (517253,185145)], this is a large park, measuring 10.5 hectares. Although some areas of the park are managed and have ornamental features, for example, the walled garden and children’s playground area, a large portion of it is comprised of open parkland which makes it suitable for award activity and provides scope for exploration as a wild place. In fact, we identified three specific areas which also constituted distinct habitats within the grounds, (see map in Explore section for exact location). These areas included a woodland-type habitat, situated along the Chiltern Railway track at the perimeter of the park, a large meadow area of long grass in the centre of the park and an area of coniferous trees alongside it, and, finally, a pond habitat. We focused on these areas and their different characteristics in our activities and they provided ample opportunities for using our senses and responding to these varied environments.