Maryon Wilson Park

Maryon Wilson Animal Park Summer Festival – Saturday 19th July

Neil Clasper

MWAP Summer Festival 2014

It’s Maryon Wilson Animal Park’s Summer Festival on Saturday 19th July, 11am – 3pm. From the organisers:

“Join Maryon Wilson Animal Park for a fun-packed family day out. Come along and enjoy:

  • A nature trail with prizes for everyone taking part
  • Animal tours
  • Meet the RDA ponies and get your photo taken
  • Meet our new Ryeland lambs and enter the competition to name them!
  • Story telling with Sandy Beach in the deer pen
  • Reptile Roadshow (hold a snake!)
  • Bouncy slide
  • Hold an owl with JambsOwls
  • Craft stalls
  • Face painting
  • Refreshments, food and ice cream

..and more!”

Address: Maryon Wilson Animal Park, Flamsteed Road, Charlton, SE7 8HT
Website: www.maryonwilsonanimalpark.org.uk
Twitter: @mwanimalpark
facebook.com/maryonwilsonanimalpark

Developments at Maryon Wilson Animal Park?

Neil Clasper3 Comments

The ‘unofficial’ Twitter feed of the Friends Of Maryon Wilson Park brought news this week of new arrivals in the park:

As well as signs that Maryon Wilson Animal Park Ltd (the company set up in 2012 to run the animal park facilities – not to be confused with the Friends of Maryon Wilson Park group) – has secured some sponsorship:

There’s nothing on the official website about Durkan’s involvement yet, but there is an announcement about quarterly open meetings, starting July 5th:

Due to a high amount of interest, the Board at Maryon Wilson Animal Park will now be running quarterly open meetings on a Saturday morning. These meetings will be open to all members of the public to keep up to speed with the activities of the Board and the animal park.

The first of these meetings will be held on Saturday 5th July from 10:30am – 12pm at Charlton Park RDA. There will be an introduction to the current Board members, a catch-up on the past three months at the park and a Q&A session. Light refreshments will also be available.

If you are interested in the park, if it holds a special place in your heart, or if you would like to know more about how you can help, then we would love to meet you!

Date: Saturday 5th July
Time: 10:30am – 12pm
Location: Charlton Park RDA Hut, Charlton Park

If you’re able to attend the meeting, some interesting questions to ask the Board might include:

  • Who is on the Board now?  What are their positions and experience? Will there be public announcements for future appointments to the Board?
  • What are the terms of the sponsorship deal with Durkan?
  • Will future events be better promoted than the Easter Egg Hunt (which appeared on the ‘official’ Twitter feed the day before the event).

If you do go along, let us know what you learnt.

 

Feed the deer in Maryon Wilson Park

Neil Clasper

Festive goings on in Maryon Wilson Animal Park this Saturday, with mince pies, hot chocolate, seasonal singing, and a chance to feed the deer. Come along to support the volunteers, and donate what you can to help keep the deer in the park. It’s all happening 2-3.30pm, Saturday December 22nd in Maryon Wilson Park. You can follow the Animal Park on Twitter: @MWAnimalPark.

Maryon Wilson Animal Park open day this Saturday

Darryl Chamberlain

Andrew Donkin of the Maryon Wilson Animal Park Trust would like a word…

If you could talk to the animals… well, now you can, on Saturday 26th May, it’s the Maryon Wilson Animal Park Open Day again.

Last year, about a thousand Charlton locals attended the free event that runs from 10am to 4pm. This is a chance to get up close and personal with both the park’s big animals such as the deer and sheep, as well as getting some touchy-feely time with the smaller residents like the rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, and chinchilla.

As well as the animals, the Open Day promises free face painting, birds of prey display, sheep shearing and woodcraft demonstrations, and an hourly story time and sing-along to help parents entertain the kids.

At noon, there’ll be a children’s show from PJ the Magic Clown. The Friends of the Park will have a stall, and there will be guided Tree Walks around the park at 1.00, 2.00, and 3.00pm.

The embryonic Maryon Wilson Animal Park Trust will also have a presence at the Open Day. MWAPT is the body that is trying to save the Animal Park after Greenwich Council announced that they were withdrawing their funding.

The Trust could really do with your help to make sure that this fantastic local resource survives. If you’d like to get involved, either on the fund-raising side or to volunteer to help care for the animals, then come along to the open day and seek out the Trust’s stall, or email MWAnimalPark@hotmail.com for more details.

Maryon Wilson animal park a step closer to safety

Darryl Chamberlain1 Comment

Charlton Champion exclusive: Maryon Wilson Park’s animal centre is looking more secure after the foundation of a limited company, the first step in forming a trust to take over its management from Greenwich Council.

The threat to the centre’s future was first revealed by this website in December 2010, when the council revealed plans to cut its budget from this April.

Now a trust is on course to be set up from April, aiming to promote animal welfare and education alongside a visitor attraction. To help the trust get up and running, this website understands Greenwich Council is to keep the animal centre’s stockman working for at least another year.

The council is also actively seeking corporate sponsorship and looking at “adopt-an-animal” schemes.

“I am delighted that the positive work done by the steering group in recent months has got us to this position so quickly,” Greenwich Council’s cabinet member for culture, John Fahy, said.

“There are exciting plans for the centre and the board of trustees will be confirmed in the next couple of weeks. A fund raising strategy as been put in place and we are confident that the long term future of the centre.”

The trust will be able to access funds not available to the council, and may also establish membership schemes.

(Thanks to Rob at greenwich.co.uk for contributing to this story.)

‘Very encouraging response’ to animal park trustees appeal

robatgreenwichcouk4 Comments

An appeal for volunteers to help run Maryon Wilson Park’s animal centre has produced a “positive and very encouraging response,” Greenwich Council says.

As the Charlton Champion reported last Monday, an advert looking for trustees to manage the animal park was placed in this week’s edition of the council-run newspaper, Greenwich Time.

Under the headline “Maryon Wilson Animal Park Trust needs you”, the advert asks for people with “enthusiasm and commitment” to come forward to help run the popular animal centre.

Charlton’s much-loved animal park was one of the most high-profile victims of council cuts announced last year, prompting an outcry from local residents and schools who use the facility.

The council says establishing a trust will help to “secure a long term future” for the animal centre.

An education centre and cafe is planned to create new revenue streams, and work is apparently under way to form an alliance with Mudchute Park & Farm on the Isle of Dogs.

Councillor John Fahy, the cabinet member responsible for parks, told The Charlton Champion:

“I am very excited that this proposal will secure a long term sustainable future for the centre and we hope to encourage continued support by the 7,000 people who signed the petition submitted to the council earlier in the year.”

Anyone wishing to apply to be a trustee can do so by emailing Sam Eastop, Senior Assistant Director of Culture and Community Services at Greenwich Council.

Could you help start Maryon Wilson Animal Park Trust?

Darryl Chamberlain2 Comments

The following ad appears in this week’s edition of Greenwich Council’s weekly newspaper, Greenwich Time. For those who don’t get it, or don’t read it, here it is:

Setting up a trust merely gets the park off the council’s books – which was the aim of the funding cut all along. It then becomes the trust’s problem to find the £43,000 a year it costs to keep the centre open. Is anyone up for the challenge?

Of course, if the council and the embroynic trust want to find a way of communicating with local people in SE7 – they know where to find us.