Teddy Bears Picnic - you’re in for a Big Surprise

Children from Beaumanor enjoyed a Teddy Bear’s picnic at the Unity Garden on Drummond Road, Leicester on Friday, thanks to local social enterprise Stride (Sharp Training, Recycling & Income Development Enterprise) and local landlord Riverside. 

Riverside, which owns the Beaumanor Unity Garden, has been working with Stride to transform the former derelict garage site into a green space to be used for events and to be enjoyed by local residents.

Since the garden opened, Stride have continued to maintain it.  Taking advantage of the fine weather they held  a Teddy Bears picnic for Beaumanor families.

The event was a great success, with over 25 children coming along to enjoy the picnic, take part in games such as hook a duck, and have their faces painted.

Gemma Fawcett from Stride said: “It was a great day.  The children really enjoyed themselves and everyone who attended brought their teddy bears, even those who were passing by went home to get their bears.”  

Rupa Chandarana, Riverside community projects coordinator said: “The garden is open to the whole community every day.  This is the first event that has been held there and we want to get the community involved to organise many other events.”

The project to convert the land into a garden was part of the Green Spaces for People programme funded by the Big Lottery Fund - a partnership between Riverside, Places for People and Peabody that will see the transformation of 75 neighbourhoods across England. The programme received £15,669,990 in funding from the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme in August 2007.

Riverside was awarded £81,462 for this project, and matched this with £31,000 of its own cash to convert the land on Drummond Road.