Reconnecting Boston Manor Park

March, April and May 2026

Please note more events may be added and to receive an updated monthly newsletter please join our mailing list by emailing bostonmanorpark@hounslow.gov.uk

Going public with the findings of the independent evaluation report on the National Heritage Lottery funded Reconnecting BMP project

We are pleased to be able to share the high level findings from the Executive Summary from the report by ERS (Nov 2025):

The Reconnecting Boston Manor Park project aimed to restore the natural, built, and cultural heritage of Boston Manor Park, improve access and biodiversity, and reconnect the park with its surrounding communities. The project has delivered a transformational change, turning a neglected green space into a vibrant, inclusive, and ecologically rich destination.

Project delivery: successes and challenges

The delivery of the project was underpinned by strong governance, adaptive management, and a commitment to community engagement. The Council’s Project Board provided effective oversight throughout the capital and operational phases, and the appointment of two on-site project officers - the Natural Park Manager and Education Officer - was pivotal to the project’s success. Read key deliveries and impacts.

New Stakeholder group for Boston Manor Park: deadline 31 January for public expressions of interest

Thank you to those who have registered an interest in joining the new Stakeholder group. The first meeting is planned for Spring and will include a short presentation from Ealing and Hounslow Community Volunteering Services on the types of structure the new group could form, discussing the main objectives of the group and how we might meet them. A key aim will be securing a sustainable financial future for the park. This includes funding the Park Manager and Education Officer posts which are currently approx 50% self-funded from external bids, activities, hires and corporate donations. Please contact us at bostonmanorpark@hounslow.gov.uk if you are interested in joining the BMP Stakeholder group.

Children and families: February half term

Doodling Art workshop with Mairi McLeod, Saturday 14 February, 1:30pm to 3pm, service yard workshop: celebrate friendship this Valentine’s Day- come and make a beautiful piece of art to take
home. Inspired by nature and mindfulness, a doodling workshop with a difference! Open to adults and to children aged 8yrs up (working with an adult- please book for two). £10pp, booking via Eventbrite.

Cut the crap! Recycling exhibition in Service Yard workshop,  Monday 16, Tuesday 17, Wednesday 18 February, 10am to 2pm, service yard workshop: pop in with your children to our hidden workshop space, to inspire them to reduce, re-use and recycle more. This mini display created by Act for Ealing  climate change campaigner Enid Barron has toured Ealing and is now on loan to us for a few days. We also showcase how BMP does its bit! FREE entry, drop-in.

Basketball drop-in sessions with SUPA, Monday 16, Tuesday 17, Wednesday 18 February, 10:30am to 11:30am: 6 to 12 year olds, meet on courts under M4, guided by coach Mario and friends for an hour. Drop-in, £3 cash per participant per day.

Key March, April, May upcoming events!

• Celebrating David Attenborough's 100th birthday this year, we have a range of fabulous events for wildlife lovers, culminating in our half term Nature Festival (Saturday 23 May 12 noon to 4pm) and a showing of his BBC documentary Wild London (Thursday 28 May 2:30pm to 3:30pm, Hub). Learn about hedgehogs, bats, harvest mice, aquatic life in Boston Manor Park and how to help nature in your garden.
• Adventure Clubs for toddlers (May), intrepid explorers (Easter holidays) and art creators (May half term). (Book soon to avoid disappointment as numbers limited.) See further down newsletter (Holiday Activities) for booking.

Nature

Wilder Woodlands, Saturday 7 March, 2pm to 3pm, meet Vanessa by Walled Garden: come and explore the woodland as it emerges from its winter slumber- spot wildlife, enjoy mindful moments and fun and easy wildlife activities, and discover our special trees. Suitable for families. FREE and drop-in. Donations to park welcome.

Discover our lake life: using hydrophones!, Saturday 21 March, 1:30pm to 3pm, meet near lake platform: come and ‘listen’ to life underwater using special equipment developed by field sound recordist and filmmaker Richard Carter, observe our aquatic minibeasts and learn about the birds and other animals that live in and around the lake. A very special FREE, drop-in event for all ages (5 yrs up) supported by CURB (Clean up the River Brent on Facebook). Donations to park welcome. See Facebook Event.

Meet our minute Harvest mice in their new home! Saturday 4 April, 11am to 12:30pm, by Hub: come and meet our retired harvest mice in their new home and learn about this special tiny rodent with an even more special tail! Funded by London National Park City charity, and supported by the Ealing Wildlife Group harvest mice team (featured in Wild London), this project is a unique opportunity to get close to a very rare species that had almost
disappeared from West London. FREE, dop-in, donations to park welcome. 

Help our hedgehogs, Saturday 25 April, 1:30pm to 3pm, Service Yard: come and learn about Ealing/Hounslow hedgehogs and how we can help them from local expert organisations Ealing Hedgehog Friends and WildChiswick. This event is supported by ActforEaling. FREE, drop-in, donations to park welcome. See Facebook event.

Wildlife Friendly Gardening workshop with the BMP wildlife loving team, Saturday 2 May, 11am to 12:30pm: inspired by David Attenborough’s 100th birthday (8 May) and his BBC programme Wild London, learn practical, easy ways of supporting wildlife in your garden-make things to take home like wildflower seedballs, bug homes and birdfeeders to get you started right away! Open to children aged 5 yrs up and all adults. Booking via Wildlife friendly gardeing working workshop page on Eventbrite. £5 per person.

Bird Walks and Survey, Saturday 7 March, 4 April, 2 May, 8:30am to 10am, meet on the lake platform. Take a leisurely walk around the park to record numbers and species of birds in the park. No experience necessary, but bring binoculars if you have them. FREE. See the bird walks Facebook event.

Bat Walk with detectors, Thursday 2 and Wednesday 8 April, 7:45pm: You’ll discover some fascinating bat facts, see a real dead bat and detect (then spot) the bats come out to feed! Meet by the picnic tables by the lake. Suggested donation of £2 per person, cash please on the night (to help us buy park resources). See the Bat Walk Facebook event page for more info.

Nature Festival, Saturday 23 May, from 12 noon to 4pm, around Hub: come and enjoy all things wildlife and nature related (songs with Me-Time Pop Choir, music, local arts and crafts stalls, info stalls from local green/nature groups with activities, petting zoo from Bedfont Lakes). Things to do, buy, experience, watch and learn about! Weaving with Nature workshop in Boston Manor House during festival. See Facebook event.

Showing of David Attenborough’s BBC documentary Wild London Thursday 28 May 2:30pm to 3:45pm, Hub: come and enjoy a brief wildlife talk (10mins) about the West London wildlife projects in the documentary, watch the film, and admire our Wildflower meadow named after Sir David. Free, drop-in. Open to all ages. See Facebook event. Donations to park welcome. Bring popcorn!

Wellbeing

Forest Bathing Mindful Walk sessions with Elizabeth Howard, Saturday 7 and 21 March, 11 and 25 April, 9 and 23 May, 11am to 1:30pm: Qualified Forest Bathing practitioner Ela will be guiding this 2.5 hour session in BMP woodland. Contact elahoward@hotmail.co.uk directly for booking and further information. £30 per person but  two for one offer applies on first booking. Limited places.

Adult Cycle Training (for adults who live, work or study in Hounslow), every Thursday 9.30am (beginners) and 10.30am (improvers), register on the cycling in Hounslow page. Meet by the green cycle hub container near lake. Helmets and bikes provided. FREE.

Friday Fitness with Jenny, Fridays, Park Hub Activities Room, 12:30pm to 1:15pm. Gentle exercise for older adults. Only £3 per walk in class. All abilities welcome.

Toddlers

Weekly Spring Toddler Woodland Adventure Club, Thursdays 7, 14 and 21 May, 1:15pm to 2:30pm. Bring your pre-schooler to explore the Park habitats and wildlife with Tash. Sheltered/indoor spaces available and activities will take place both inside and outside. Meet by Hub. £8 per child over 2yrs (accompanying younger siblings are free) per session. Booking via the toddler woodland adventure club page on Eventbrite. Limited places.

Holiday Activities

Easter Holiday Nature Explorers Club (6 to 12 year olds) with Tash, Wednesday 1, Thursday 2, Wednesday 8 April 10am to 2pm: Children can expect fun, outdoor and indoor physical, forest school, nature-based and crafty activities, including a taster street dance lesson at the end Holiday Club on 8th! All park facilities will be available. Food not included. £30 pp (or £25 pp for two places or more and siblings discount). Booking via the nature explorers club page on Eventbrite. Places limited.

Street Dance class with Nick, Wednesday 8 April, 1:15pm to 2pm, Hub: join local teacher Nick for a fun and energised street dance class (suitable for ages 6-14). This Easter holiday dance class is free and no booking required. Nick runs regular street dance classes at the Hub during term times on Mondays at 4.20pm. Email Nick thepack_dance@outlook.com to book onto his regular class.

May half term Art in the park holiday Club with Tash, (6 to 14 year olds), Tuesday 26, Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 May, 10am to 12:30pm, Hub: for children who love to craft or do arty activities, this will be the perfect way to spend a morning with different indoors and outdoors activities each day- mosaic making, clay creature modelling, nature photography with macro lens, tree cookie and stone painting, botanical doodling, elder wand creating and decorating, macrame bracelets weaving and more! £15pp. Booking via the art in the park Eventbrite page. Places limited.

Gardening and Conservation activities

Weekly Gardening and Conservation Sessions:

Every Tuesday, 10am to 12:30pm: meet outside the Service yard/ walled garden. Join Vanessa and carry out a variety of gardening and conservation tasks all around the park. These sessions are physically more active than our Thurs sessions.
Every Thursday, 1:30pm to 3:30pm: meet outside the Service yard/ walled garden. Join Vanessa for relaxed, general gardening and growing vegetables. These sessions take place in the walled garden, yard and nearby formal beds and are less physical than Tues sessions.

Public Volunteering (families welcome), Saturday 7 March, Saturday 21 March, Saturday 25 April, 10:30am to 12:30pm, Saturday 2 May 1:30pm to 3:30pm, meet by Service Yard. Lots of different Spring tasks to keep everyone busy, including one session contributing to the Great British Spring Clean (21 March)!

Youth Volunteering (13 years old and up), Saturday 7 March, Saturday 21 March, Saturday 25 April, 10:30 to 12:30pm, Saturday 2 May 1:30pm to 3:30pm and Easter/May half term holiday clubs (one volunteer needed per day, see above for details): Volunteering specifically for young people (13–18-year-olds) with regular sessions for teenagers looking to meet the D of E award 'Volunteering' requirement and all teenagers wanting to volunteer. Meet promptly by Hub (or Service Yard) – start times can vary, check date and times above. Activities include conservation, gardening and helping run family events/holiday clubs (at other times). Email Tash asap if you are interested or can commit to helping at a holiday club: bostonmanorpark@hounslow.gov.uk

Know a teacher?

BMP School Outdoor Workshop Programme 2025/26 and SEND Work Experience and Workshop 2025/26 programme here and new joint BMP/BMH workshop here. Boston Manor House also offer a workshop programme here. All
educational workshops can be found on the Boston Manor House website.  New ECO workshop launching in Jan 2026!

Corporate team building and volunteering: we’ll host your team for an amazing day of giving back and having fun!

We offer bespoke opportunities year round for teams to spend a day (or just a few hours) in the park, volunteering on meaningful conservation and gardening projects and including team-building and fun activities, such as guided sensory/foraging walks, natural arts and crafting, learning basic survival skills in the park and orienteering challenges. Email Vanessa: bostonmanorpark@hounslow.gov.uk for details.

SPACES TO RENT AT BMP: Classroom, Workshop and Woodland

As part of helping the park to become financially sustainable, we are hiring out the Education room in the Park Hub building, the Workshop space (by the Service Yard) and the enclosed Woodland play area (by Boston Manor House) for very modest rates during Mondays to Thursdays 9am to 4pm only – outside of these hours, bookings (and fees) are taken by the Potting Shed cafe. These spaces are perfect for exercise classes, holiday clubs, arts and crafts classes, birthday parties, group meet-ups. If you would like more information about costs/ availability or to book any spaces, please email bostonmanorpark@hounslow.gov.uk for the information pack putting ‘BMP space hire’ in the subject line.

Know a Scout, Beaver or Cub group?

Night walks, bat detecting and evening exploration/orienteering sessions with Tash available (£3 per child). Sessions can be run in Polish, French or English, from 6yrs up.

Park Hub ‘The Potting Shed’ Cafe:

Our café The Potting Shed thepottingshed.london is open 7 days a week, 9am to 4pm. Food 9am to 3pm. Try out the new 2gocup scheme to avoid using single use cups. Instagram: @pottingshedlondon

Boston Manor House events:

See What's on - Boston Manor House, Spring highlights include:

• My Country is my home (about the Polish community in UK) is on until March 2026
• Hansel and Gretel (The Arts Centre production) in March,  tickets available on the Boston Manor House website and
• Weaving with Nature workshop during our Nature Festival on 23 May.

The Manor kitchen:

The House café is now run by the same team that runs The Potting Shed! Open 10:30am to 5pm daily (except Mondays). Instagram @themanorkitchen

Reconnecting Boston Manor Park project Evaluation Report (ERS November 2025)

Project delivery: successes and challenges

Key delivery successes include:

• On-site staffing: The embedded presence of the two officers on site created a visible, trusted interface between the park and its users. They were central to the park’s transformation, with visitors frequently attributing their positive experiences to the officers’ stewardship, responsiveness, programming and skilled facilitation.
• Capital works: The physical transformation of the park was extensive and well-executed. Improvements included restoration of the lake, woodland and meadow management, new paths and signage, and the creation of the Potting Shed Café and education hub. These works dramatically improved accessibility, safety, enjoyment, and the legibility of the park’s heritage.
• Activity programme: A rich and evolving programme of events, learning, and volunteering was delivered across six thematic workstreams. Over 25,700 attendances were recorded, with activities tailored to diverse audiences, including families, schools, SEND groups, and older residents.
• Partnerships: The project cultivated strong community and commercial partnerships. The Potting Shed Café, operated by a local social enterprise, and the Junction 2 music festival contributed to the park’s vibrancy and financial sustainability. Community and voluntary organisations, and local schools and colleges, engaged and benefited from inclusive programming, while local environmental groups supported conservation efforts.

Volunteer engagement: More than 1,500 volunteers contributed over 9,400 hours, supported by a structured training programme. Volunteers reported high satisfaction with their volunteer experience, skills development, and a strong sense of ownership and pride in the park.

Impacts: Outcomes for Heritage, People, and Communities

The project has delivered substantial and wide-ranging impacts across all Heritage Fund outcome areas (under the 2018-2023 strategy period).

Heritage Outcomes

• Natural heritage: Biodiversity has increased, with new habitats for birds, bats, amphibians, and pollinators. Conservation is now central to park management. The park supports a mosaic of habitats, with increased species richness and improved ecological resilience. Conservation measures that have been implemented included habitat creation, woodland management, and wetland restoration. Species monitoring indicates ecological recovery, while interpretation and programming have deepened public understanding of heritage and sustainability.
• Landscape and built heritage: The park’s historic landscape has been restored, with improved vistas, path networks, and planting schemes. The Walled Garden has become a focal point for community and wellbeing activities.
• Cultural and community heritage: The park now functions as a cultural venue, hosting festivals, performances, and creative workshops. Programming has celebrated local traditions, supported intergenerational engagement, and reinforced the park’s role as a shared cultural space.

People and Community Outcomes

• Visitor growth: Annual visits increased from a baseline of 22,000 to an estimated 159,000–169,000 in the final year – an increase exceeding 720%. The park has become a destination for local residents and visitors from across the borough.
• Use and enjoyment: 96% of visitors rated their experience as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’. Improved accessibility, safety, and amenities have enabled more diverse and frequent use. The park now supports a wide range of activities, from relaxation and exercise to learning and socialising.
• Learning and skills: The education programme achieved over 6,400 attendances, and delivered curriculum-aligned, inclusive workshops. Volunteers and apprentices gained practical skills, confidence, and pathways to further education or employment.
• Health and wellbeing: 95% of visitors reported feeling happier and more relaxed after visiting. Activities supported physical activity, mindfulness, and social connection. The park is now widely regarded as a therapeutic and restorative space.
• Inclusion and access: The project embedded inclusive practice across all workstreams. SEND groups, older people, and culturally diverse communities were actively engaged. Physical improvements and affordable programming widened participation.
• Community wellbeing: The park has become a hub of community life, fostering pride, cohesion, and shared ownership. Volunteers, partners, and residents described the park as central to their sense of place and belonging.

Self-guided BMP Trails:

BMP Audio Trail: you can download the Echoes app on Google Play or the App Store (free download), search for Boston Manor Park on the app (starts near car park) and plug into a mindful walk through the park, listening to poetry, music and the sounds of nature. You might recognise some familiar voices and will finish feeling calm and relaxed in the walled garden. Pick up the walk leaflet outside Hub.

BMP Activity Trails (self guided, all available to download or pick up in paper form (Trails 2 and 3 only) outside Hub:

• Trail 1 (Nature and Wellbeing)
• Trail 2 (Get to know the park!)
• Trail 3 (Wonderful Wildlife)

Download free copies in English and Polish from the Let's Talk Hounslow Volunteering in Hounslow Parks page and on the Ealing Parks Foundation website.

Secret Bird Mosaic Trail

Can you spot our 7 bird mosaics hanging in the woodland (top woodland path, starting near the lake and ending by oak tree by M4 flyover)? You will see a jay, a woodpecker, a sparrow, a magpie, a robin, a starling and a chaffinch. Mosaics were made by the community and Susie John, a local artist. Pick up a leaflet with photos outside Hub to help you spot them!

Go Orienteering Trails

Can you find all the markers (‘controls’) hidden around the park? Learn how to navigate and then find and follow three different (easy, medium and hard) orienteering routes around the park. Download the free orienteering maps.

Strava Running Club

Boston Manor Park’s own running club and running routes (co-created with WE RUN EALING, community based running organisation). Find out more and join the Boston Manor Park running club on Strava (BMP2023 is Club on Strava).

See our School Workshop Programme 2025-26