A Walthamstow adventure playground has been saved from closure following an anonymous £28,500 donation days before Christmas. Grow Wild, which provides outdoor and nature play for under 5s in Lloyd Park, faced a funding gap of £45,000 for 2025 during the latter months of last year.
But fortunes have flipped entirely, as staff say they now have a safety net for the next two years. Waking up to news of the shock donation over the Christmas break, Grow Wild manager Chris Rowley said he initially thought it was a ‘prank’.
“It seemed too good to be true,” he told MyLondon. “It was the exact amount of money needed to take us over the line.
“I said I’d have a break from social media as it had been a stressful few months trying to bridge the funding gap. But when I saw it, I thought, ‘Happy Christmas’, we finally have a bit of breathing space.”
Frankie, two, is one of many Walthamstow toddlers who attend a Grow Wild session every week
(Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)
Chris has no idea who made the generous donation but believes their wish to remain unknown should be respected. He continued: ” It must have been someone keeping an eye on the fundraiser throughout. I even thought it might disappear after a day as it wasn’t real.”
The nature space connected to Lloyd Park Children’s Charity first opened in 2011 and is one of the only natural spaces for children in Waltham Forest. Its funding gap arose due to multiple charity grants coming to an end in early 2025.
Staff are unable to apply for more London Marathon funding – worth £70,000 per year – until the current grant runs out later this month. Around £30,000 from the Youth Music Fund will also stop this year, while it’s yet to be decided whether the charity as a whole will receive a grant from Waltham Forest Borough Council.
As Grow Wild needs at least £25,000 each year for maintenance and safety works alone, a fundraising target of £45,000 was announced in November to secure its future.
Chris was initially tentative about asking the Walthamstow community for help due to the potential for it to be viewed negatively. “When we first set up the GoFundMe page we had people saying to us, ‘we’re so sorry you’re closing’.
“But that wasn’t the intention. We wanted it to be a positive thing and show we were willing to put up a fight. I worried a little that some people would stop coming each week if they knew we would close.”
More than £45,000 has been raised from about 300 donations
(Image: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon)
Grow Wild initially plans to bank the fundraising money before deciding exactly where to spend it. Staff also plan to keep a small cash reserve for emergencies while they wait to secure other funding streams.
The GoFundMe page will remain open until the end of January. Despite a huge chunk of the money needed coming from one individual, Chris told MyLondon he was extremely grateful to everyone who helped keep Grow Wild open to Walthamstow families.
He said: “We want to say a thank you to everyone who showed support or did their own fundraising for us. We had 300 donations mostly from the local community. This makes us feel loved and cared for.”
To view the GoFundMe page click here.
Get the top stories from across London directly to your inbox. Sign up for MyLondon’s The 12 HERE to get the biggest stories every day.