The City of London Corporation is launching a new education programme across its Open Spaces to connect young people with the natural world.

The events will begin with a special week of activities on Hampstead Heath this May half-term beginning on Tuesday 31^st May: throughout the week, parents with under-5s are invited to attend new natural play sessions at the One O’Clock Club as well as tasters of wild play sessions across the Heath.

These natural and wild play sessions will include den building, water play, story-telling, bug hunting, and other wild activities.

Virginia Rounding, Chairman of the Hampstead Heath Management Committee said: “We are really excited about our new education programme. We hope it will connect a new audience of London’s young people and communities with the amazing natural world on their doorsteps.”

The team will also be giving members of the public a chance to participate in some of the new school sessions: Stone Age Survivors, where participants learn survival techniques used by our ancestors, and Heath Beasts which explores the different habitats on the Heath including pond dipping.

The fantastic Heath Hands volunteers and project partner the RSPB will also be on site to help visitors get closer to nature through fun and exciting activities. Full details of the events and how to book are listed on: www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/hampstead

For further details please contact:

Media officer: Susanna.Lascelles@cityoflondon.gov.uk / 020 7332 1754

Notes to editors:

About the City of London Corporation:

The City of London Corporation provides local government and policing services for the financial and commercial heart of Britain, the 'Square Mile'. In addition, the City Corporation has three roles:

• We support London’s communities by working in partnership with neighbouring boroughs on economic regeneration, education and skills projects. In addition, the City of London Corporation’s charity City Bridge Trust makes grants of around £20 million annually to charitable projects across London and we also support education with three independent schools, three City Academies, a primary school and the world-renowned Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

• We also help look after key London’s heritage and green spaces including Tower Bridge, Museum of London, Barbican Arts Centre, City gardens, Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest, Burnham Beeches, and important ‘commons’ in south London.

• We also support and promote the ‘City’ as a world-leading financial and business hub, with outward and inward business delegations, high-profile civic events and research-driven policies all reflecting a long-term approach.

See www.cityoflondon.gov.uk for more details