Please read all of the information below before booking.

When booking you are signing up for a four-day green woodworking course that will run from Tuesday-Friday (dates and times vary). This short course will teach you some basic green woodworking skills from how to select your wood and make your first piece to caring for your tools and even a little bit about the history of green woodworking. No experience necessary, just enthusiasm and an interest in learning! 

Throughout the course you'll be working in the beautiful setting of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, using the trees found on site to make a small mushroom carving, a spatula and a spoon (or two). You'll be guided through the art of green woodworking by Dimuthu Meehitiya, Education Manager for SetPoint London East, Isabella Johnston from Rights for Weeds and Claire Slack, Heritage Officer from the Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park. The course will allow plenty of time for socialising and exploring our historic cemetery and nature reserve as well as learning and making!

These courses are fully funded by The Radcliffe Trust and are ideal for people that experience a higher risk of poverty, social exclusion, discrimination and violence than the general population such as ethnic minorities, migrants, people with disabilities, people who are out of work for any reason and older people. We won't ask you for any proof of your circumstances or reasons for joining us but we may ask you to fill out an anonymous questionnaire to help us report back to our funders and ensure that we can continue offering these activities in the future. These workshops are completely free although we always welcome donations to help keep the Cemetery Park thriving. 

Please note that due to the tools we are working with, these courses are only suitable for those over the age of 18. 

Important general info below:

Ages: Activities are suitable for adults aged 18+.

Clothing: Please remember to dress for the weather as we will be outside for at least some of the course. Trousers are a must, layers for clothing for warmth, a hat, closed-toed shoes (no crocs) and waterproof trousers and coat.

Meeting Point: Outside the Soanes Centre, in front of the War Memorial (on the right as you enter via Southern Grove) Southern Grove, E3 4PX

Times: Our day sessions will run from 10am-3pm and our evening sessions will run from 4.30pm-9pm.

Lunch/Refreshments: During the course, we will have snacks and hot/cold drinks available as often as you need them, however you may wish to bring additional snacks and lunch for those on the day courses. 

Access statement

• This is an accessible, inclusive green woodworking course. The maximum number of participants is 8.

• We will cover a distance of less than 1km. The paths are approx 1-2m wide. The surface is crushed concrete fines, a type of hard-packed fine gravel (which doesn't turn to mud in rain) or earth although we may work in some areas off the paths where access is more limited. A circular route around the Cemetery Park is approx 1km with one steeper slope and some shallow slopes, but you can go as far as you like. There are 2 areas with steps, but these are avoidable. If arranged in advance a motorised vehicle could also drive onto the site. There are benches with backs at regular distances around the Cemetery Park. Some of the site is shaded. There is on-street parking.

• Please contact us with at least 2 weeks’ notice if you’d like BSL or other interpretation/translation and we will do our best to accomodate. Sadly we have no-one in house who is able to offer this service.

• Toilets will be available in the Soanes Centre. There is a toilet that was deemed accessible when it was refurbished in 2007, but it is not accessible in line with today's standards. It is approx 2x2 m2 and there is a fixed support bar on the left of the toilet, with a movable bar on the right. There is no adult changing table or hoist.

• We are not able to offer baby changing facilities but we can provide a private space for breastfeeding on request.

• If you need space to pray throughout the day, please let us know and we'll do our best to offer you a private space.

• We aim to make our events as accessible as possible, and are learning constantly how to do this better. If you would like to let us know about any specific requirements or access needs that you would like us to meet, or offer feedback on our accessibility arrangements, please email contact@fothcp.org. We want you to feel safe in nature.

Contact us for more info - 0208 983 1277 or email us on contact@fothcp.org

What do we do with your data? Read our GDPR Policy

Further information about Covid-19 and the Cemetery Park here