Happiness is a place called Hawkwood

I think this may be my favourite place in the world at the moment. It used to be where our local council grew the plants that made our parks gorgeous when I was young (er..I'm not old...I'm not!), but then they decided plants could more cheaply be bought in from elsewhere and it fell into disrepair. More recently it has been taken over by local organic gardening organisation Organiclea and is being run by some staff and a horde of volunteers. My friend volunteers there regularly and takes both her daughter and mine. I go mostly to the open days but will maybe go more in the summer if I can.

I love it because it everyone is so friendly. I've only been there twice yet on my second visit I was greeted like an old friend by two of the staff. I love that it doesn't matter that I am a complete novice; someone will show me what to do and answer my confused questions about my own planting. I love the skills I never expected to learn. I've helped build the straw bale walls for the classroom and am filled with a deep desire to one day buy some land and build my own straw bale house. If feels wholseome and simple and very sane there. You bring food to share and everyone stops for lunch together, with a huge pot of nettle tea (which I *love*...didn't expect that as I am not an enthusiastic drinker of tea of any kind). People help each other and, even in London, there is space, and greenness and fresh air!

But most of all I love what it offers Hannah. The site is 13 acres, which includes building and glasshouses, grass and vegetable beds, orchards and woodland. She is spending these glorious spring days sometimes helping with the work of growing, but mostly she and her best friend just wander, free and uninhibited the way we were as children. Since I read Last Child in the Woods I have been yearning to find ways to give her what we took for granted as children, freedom to wander in forests and parks, to climb and explore, to learn about nature from being in it, to get wet and muddy and away from the grown ups! And here she can have that. She and her best friend build dens in the woods and invite the grown ups to visit them. Plans are afoot for the building of a semi-permanent tipi. She loves it here and her eyes lit up this morning when I told her we're going there tomorrow.