Amidst Summer
Colin Houston - Chief Executive, Heath Hands
We’ve just rushed through July, in a blurry haze of heat, melted chocolate biscuits and seemingly never ending watering sessions. Back at the start of the month the members of Heath Hands gathered with our trustees at the splendid surroundings of the Dairy for our 2026 annual general meeting.
Our Chair, Rachel Chapman, welcomed our members, volunteers and staff, who shared a warm welcome to our three newly appointed trustees to the committee : Shilpa Agashe, Jonathan Plimey and Monica Dawes. We also thanked departing Liz Andrew and Susie Gorney, who stepped down after steering Heath Hands admirably over recent years, on ecology and learning respectively. I was personally sad to miss my first AGM in a decade due to personal commitments, but there’s no doubt, that as our annual report demonstrates, it was a remarkable year. Thanks to all our donors, members, participants, visitors, volunteers and staff for making it so.
Members gathering at the AGM
It’s not just the thousands of hours our volunteers contribute each year, or the hundreds of young people getting involved, never mind the dozens of ecological surveys of our wonderful wildlife that stands out from last year, but also the sharing of stories of friendships made, first time visitors to the Heath, or unforgettable days spent learning about nature conservation.
None of what we do would be possible without our charity partners at the City of London’s green space charities and English Heritage at Kenwood. There’s lots of information on all these green spaces, including how you can get involved andwhat’s on here.
Download our annual report
Our Strategy to 2030
Coming up we’ve exciting few years ahead for Heath Hands, and recently reviewed and re-published our strategy to 2030. This was to ensure our aims and objectives align with how we plan to continue help conserve our green spaces, and support the local community get involved in different projects on them.
Two particularly exciting developments are the imminent launch of ‘Queen’s Greens’, our new volunteering and community outreach project at Queen’s Park. Alongside this continues our efforts to enhance accessibility, such as offering free mobility scooters, to ensure our green spaces can be enjoyed by everyone regardless of ability. Watch out for some exciting updates later in the year.
Parliament Hill approaching dusk
This time of year can seem like a bit of a haze, and I’m especially mindful of our staff and volunteers who are battling the heat and the long days. It’s sometimes easy to overlook those who’re in at first light clearing the litter, staying late to lock up facilities or see people home safely, or indeed those toiling away in (very) hot offices keeping things ticking along.
So a big thanks to everyone involved with Heath Hands, and to the Rangers and Gardeners across our parks and green spaces.
For all the ways to support our conservation, community, learning and wellbeing programmes visit our support us pages. Have a great rest of the Summer!
