My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), evidence of access to a lease for the space you are leveraging, and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions.
Yes
First Name
Michael
Last Name
Kenward
Pronouns
He/Him
Email address
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
1
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
No
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
No
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Lead Organisation Name
Friends of Stoneydown Park
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
2008
Initiative Title
Resus for the Dead Zone!
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
http://friendsofstoneydownpark.org.uk/category/projects/
Initiative Stage
Idea (You have a solid concept and are hoping to get started in the future)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
Friends of Stoneydown Park in Partnership with Stoneydown Park Primary School propose to reimagine an underused, wooded edge of the park as a child-co-designed natural play and movement space, transforming a neglected “dead zone” of the park near Blackhorse Road into an inclusive, informal destination for climbing, balance, confidence-building and everyday physical activity for local children, families and schools, while generating learning about how marginal park spaces can be activated through community-led design.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
Stoneydown Park is an exceptionally well-used local green space, with hundreds of children and adults using it every day. It borders three schools with over 2,000 pupils between them and is the closest public park for a large recent housing development in the area, bringing approximately 3,000 new households within walking distance. Despite the importance of this space, one area of the park is significantly underutilised and does not currently support active play or informal sport. The lightly wooded section closest to Blackhorse Road functions as a “dead zone”: while it contains natural features such as trees and fallen logs, there is no clear invitation for children to climb, balance, explore or play. This underused area is estimated to be around three to four tennis courts in size (approximately 700m²). At present, children tend to pass through it rather than engage with it, meaning a simple, sustainable opportunity to encourage everyday physical activity is being missed. Local children and families rely on the park for free, accessible opportunities to be active. In a dense urban area, outdoor space is precious and must work hard to meet the needs of a growing community. The primary beneficiaries of this initiative will be local children, particularly those of primary and early secondary school age, who will gain a safe and inclusive space for climbing, balancing and creative, movement-based play. Families, carers and nearby schools will also benefit from a more engaging park environment that supports physical activity, social interaction and wellbeing. Friends of Stoneydown Park are deeply embedded in this community. Our members are local residents and regular park users, many of whom are parents or carers, and we work closely with all stakeholders.
Your approach: How are you/ will you addressing the problem outlined above? How does your solution unlock or reimagine access to spaces for sport and physical activity? What role do landowners, local authorities, or other decision-making stakeholders play in your approach? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
Our approach is to reinvigorate the “dead zone” at Stoneydown Park by working directly with the people who know and use the space most: local children, families, and the Council. Friends of Stoneydown Park have repeatedly heard from the community that this area is overlooked and underused, despite its size and location, and that it would benefit from focused attention to unlock its potential. At this stage, we are not proposing a fixed design. Instead, we envisage an intervention in keeping with the wooded nature of the zone and that supports climbing, balancing and exploratory movement. The specific form this takes will be shaped through a co-design process led by local children, ensuring the space responds to how it is actually experienced and used. This flexible, nature-based approach removes barriers associated with cost, confidence and access, and supports everyday physical activity without requiring formal sports facilities. The idea for the project emerged through observation and community feedback. Children currently pass through the dead zone rather than engage with it. The “aha” moment was recognising that the space itself is not lacking, but that it offers no clear invitation to be active within it. Stoneydown Park School is strongly supportive of the project and keen for pupils to be involved in shaping it. The school is highly diverse & pupils regular users of the park. Involving them directly in the design process helps address structural barriers to participation ensuring the space is inclusive to a wide range of children. Waltham Forest Council, as landowner and park manager, play a central role. Friends of Stoneydown Park have an established relationship with the Council having recently fundraised new swings and worked together on install.
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
This initiative is built around the experiences of young people and families who use Stoneydown Park every day. Friends of Stoneydown Park have identified the dead zone through ongoing conversations with the local community as an area that is overlooked, and in need of attention. Young people are not being consulted at the end of the process; they are shaping it from the outset. Supported by Stoneydown Park Primary School, young people will play a central role in co-designing how the area is reimagined. Through creative class based and outdoor sessions, pupils will explore how they currently use the space, what stops them using it, and what would encourage them to use it more actively. These ideas will directly inform the design brief, ensuring the space reflects how children actually want to play. This approach builds on an established culture of collaboration. Children at the school have previously been involved in shaping improvements to the park, including contributing to planting, signage and publicity materials. This project offers pupils a meaningful opportunity to influence their environment and see their ideas realised. Friends of Stoneydown Park will act as the connector between children, families, schools and the local authority. Parents and carers will be engaged to test ideas, reflect on accessibility and ensure the space works for a wide range of users. We will work with Waltham Forest Council, as landowner and park manager, alongside the community to ensure proposals are safe, appropriate and sustainable. By placing young people at the heart of decision-making and grounding the work in the local community, the initiative ensures the dead zone is transformed into a space that belongs to its users, unlocking connection to sport & physical activity.
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in unlocking spaces for and access to physical activity and sport so far? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had , and or what impact do you envision having in the future?
This initiative creates opportunity for physical activity by transforming the dead zone at Stoneydown Park into space that invites movement. By activating an underused area of the park, the project supports more physical activity without relying on formal sports facilities or program sessions. Short term, the project will deliver a reimagined play space shaped by local children. Once complete, the dead zone will offer daily opportunities for climbing, balancing and exploratory movement. Given the park’s footfall and proximity to three schools, we anticipate regular use by children before and after school, at weekends and during holidays, supporting increased everyday movement for hundreds of users. Impact is delivered through the process itself. Involving pupils from Stoneydown Park Primary School in co-design builds confidence, ownership and connection to place. Children will see their ideas translated into a permanent change in their local environment, strengthening relationships with the space. Families and carers benefit from a more engaging park. Long term, the initiative contributes to deep-rooted change; giving the dead zone a purpose & stewardship. Well-used spaces are more likely to be cared for. Working with the Council to adopt and maintain the improvements ensures impact is sustained beyond the life of the grant. Evidence of impact will be gathered through measures including observation of use, feedback from children and families, and engagement through the school. The project will result in a newly activated section of the park that improves wellbeing, enhances the visual quality of the area, and ensures the dead zone is no longer perceived as neglected but as a valued, active part of the park, benefiting hundreds of children and families each year.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
This initiative is innovative because it focuses on unlocking the potential of an overlooked space rather than creating new facilities or programmes. Instead of adding formal sports infrastructure, we are reimagining the dead zone at Stoneydown Park as a place that naturally invites everyday movement through its design, use and ownership. What is different about this approach is that it tackles the root cause of underuse: not a lack of green space, but a lack of clear invitation and purpose. The project applies nature-based play principles in a new context, transforming a lightly wooded, inactive area into a space that encourages climbing, balancing and exploratory movement without cost, booking or supervision. This removes common barriers to participation, particularly for children who may not engage with structured sport. The initiative is also innovative in how it collaborates. Local children are not simply consulted but lead the co-design of the space, shaping how it looks and functions based on lived experience. This challenges traditional top-down approaches to park improvement and shifts norms around who gets to design public space. By embedding children’s voices from the outset, the project builds stronger ownership, relevance and long-term use. Finally, the approach strengthens structures around stewardship. By working closely with the council and schools and families as everyday users, the project will ensure the space is designed for real use and sustained over time. Together, this creates a low-cost, replicable model for activating other “dead zones” in urban parks, demonstrating how existing spaces can work harder for physical activity and community wellbeing. We would be glad to share our learning.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your initiative up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
This initiative is designed to be viable from the outset by working within existing structures and partnerships rather than creating new ones. Friends of Stoneydown Park provide local coordination and community engagement, while Waltham Forest Council, direct third party developers, approve, adopt and maintain improvements. This ensures the physical changes are sustainable and do not rely on ongoing revenue funding once delivered. Operational sustainability is built into both the design and delivery. By focusing on a nature-based, low-maintenance intervention, the project avoids complex equipment, staffing or programming requirements. Clear purpose and increased daily use also support informal stewardship. Simple monitoring through observation and community feedback allows issues to be identified early without adding burden. The project is also set up to scale. The approach deliberately focuses on activating an overlooked area rather than bespoke infrastructure, making it adaptable to other underused areas within the park or across the borough. Learning from the co-design process with children, families and schools will be documented and shared with the Council and local partners, creating a replicable model for unlocking similar spaces. To scale impact, future support could include modest capital funding, continued collaboration with schools, and partnership with the Council to identify other suitable parts of the park in need of refresh. Friends of Stoneydown Park are already embedded in local networks and actively working with partners, placing the group in a strong position to grow this approach over time and extend its benefits.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
Responsibilities for this initiative are clearly shared between community, education and local authority partners, ensuring the project is well-coordinated, deliverable and sustainable. Friends of Stoneydown Park will lead the initiative. The group will coordinate community engagement, manage the relationship with the funder, and act as the central point of contact between partners. Friends members will facilitate consultation with families, support co-design activity with children, and work closely with the Council to ensure local needs are reflected throughout delivery. Stoneydown Park Primary School will play a key role in engaging young people. The school will support pupil participation in the co-design process, providing time, space and staff support for workshops and creative sessions. Pupils will contribute ideas, feedback and lived experience insight to shape how the dead zone is reimagined. We will work with Waltham Forest Council (as the owner and manager of the land) on access, work direction, approval, oversight and technical input. The Council support design development, approve proposals, and are responsible for adopting and maintaining the completed space. This ensures improvements meet safety and quality standards and are sustained beyond the life of the grant. Where appropriate, specialist designers or contractors may be engaged to support delivery, working to a brief shaped by children and the community. Clear roles, existing relationships and regular communication between partners ensure shared ownership of the project and a strong foundation for successful delivery.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/to grow.
The initiative will be delivered through a small number of clear, achievable milestones that build from engagement to delivery and long-term use. The first milestone is project initiation and coordination. This includes confirming partner roles, agreeing scope with Waltham Forest Council, and setting a clear timetable for engagement and delivery. The second milestone focuses on engagement and co-design. Friends of Stoneydown Park will work with Stoneydown Park Primary School and local families to run structured co-design sessions with children. These sessions will gather insight on how the dead zone is currently used, identify barriers to play, and shape ideas for a nature-based intervention that supports climbing, balancing and exploratory movement. The third milestone is design development and approval. Outputs from the co-design phase will be translated into a practical design proposal, refined with technical input from the Council and any specialist advisors, and approved for delivery. The fourth milestone is delivery and installation. This includes preparing the site and implementing the agreed improvements in line with safety, accessibility and maintenance requirements. The final milestone is activation and review. Once complete, the space will be actively promoted through the school and Friends group, with early observation and feedback used to understand use and inform any minor adjustments. Ongoing stewardship and maintenance will be agreed with the Council to ensure long-term impact.
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding: If you were to make it as a finalist, you will be required to participate in an 8-week capacity building programme. If funding/ cost is a barrier to your participation, we may be able to offer up to 10,000 GBP of grant money available to support you. Please break down below, if it is the case, what costs you would incur and you would need covered. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the T&Cs for further details.
Friends of Stoneydown Park are able to participate in the 8-week capacity-building programme. However, as a volunteer-led group, participation would involve some unavoidable costs, as key contributors would ordinarily be working during this time. The primary cost relates to lost income or backfill for time spent participating, estimated at approximately two hours per week over the eight-week period. We estimate this opportunity cost at around £3,000. Limited funding support would help offset this and ensure consistent, meaningful participation without impacting delivery of the initiative or other commitments. There may also be minor associated costs, such as travel to attend any in-person sessions and childcare or caring-related expenses, where required, to enable full participation across the programme. Any funding provided would be used solely to support participation in the capacity-building programme and to strengthen the group’s ability to apply learning directly to the delivery, sustainability and future scaling of the initiative.
