Horsenden is a local nature reserve and farm and a popular choice for volunteering and they offer corporate volunteer and corporate social responsibility (CSR) days.
With around 80 hectares, the Horsenden site spans ancient woodland, meadows, ponds and wetlands, and hedgerows. It is a nature reserve and a working community farm based in the borough of Ealing. Home to many animals, wildflower and tree species, some of which are rare for the area (such as dyer’s greenweed), and others which are indicator species for ancient woods (such as bluebells, wood anemones, dog mercury, wild service trees). If Ealing is the “Queen of the suburbs“, Horsenden is the jewel in her crown.
Horsenden is looked after by the Friends of Horsenden, a group of local volunteers who care for the site with the Ealing Park Ranger team, undertaking the long term conservation plan and seasonal site management for biodiversity and public use.
Corporate Volunteering at Horsenden
Horsenden is a popular choice for corporate volunteer and corporate social responsibility (CSR) days, and thousands have enjoyed a day at the farm and the benefits of a day spent at a unique location such as this.
There are many benefits to both the companies/organisations and the volunteers in undertaking volunteering:
- Team work: through working together on outdoors conservation tasks, individuals and groups gain a better understanding of how they can communicate and work collaboratively, problem solving, developing their own leadership and teamworking capabilities
- Reward to staff: By spending time in a community farm and nature reserve, with the opportunity to socialise with colleagues while bonding over enjoyable practical tasks, is a pleasurable highlight for many that come
- Satisfaction: there are great personal benefits in doing something worthwhile for nature and a local community; something tangible that they can be proud of at day’s end, that they know will be enjoyed by many
- Wellbeing: spending a day in a beautiful place with abundant nature combined with the gentle-to-moderate exercise of doing practical outdoors tasks has an uplifting and positive effect on emotional and mental wellbeing
Their past Corporate clients and partners include:
- Warner Brothers
- Carbon Footprint
- Trees For Cities
- The Conservation Volunteers
- Gucci
- Sky
To name a few of the organisations that have provided volunteers at Horsenden.
Corporate Volunteer Days
At Horsenden hill they can organise a corporate event. These include:
- Accommodate groups of 5 – 80+ on a pre-booked day
- Costs are £50 per head, with an admin charge of £100 per event
- Session timings are 10am – 4pm (with a lunch break) unless otherwise requested
- Booking numbers must be finalised a month before the event date
- Payment is due on booking
- Cancellations are without penalty up to 14 days before the event; or for cancellations within 14 days of the event, 50% of the booking amount is due
- Friends of Horsenden have insurance cover to cover your volunteers
For full details go to Horsenden Corporate Volunteering
To enquire about volunteering days email friends@horsenden.org.
Open to the public
Facilities provided onsite at Horsenden are available to those visiting the nature reserve for visitors and members of the public:
- Public car park which is open 365 days a year EXCEPT on event days, when space is restricted to Blue Badge Holders and event vehicles. It also is well connected by public transports, see Getting here
- Toilets (with baby changing facilities and disabled access)
- Playground (complete with pirate ship!)
- Gruffalo Walking Trail around Horsenden Hill
- Picnic tables
- Tap for filling dog water bowls
- Plus a sensory garden, cosy corner and bird feeders.
Horsenden a hub of activity
Horsenden is a hub of activities with many organisations running on site and open to the public. These include:
- Horsenden Loaf farm bakery + café is open Fridays 11-2 and Saturdays and Sundays 10-4.
- Horsenden farm shop is open during veg selling season and its opening hours are 10am – 12pm, which usually starts in May and carries on till winter.
- Perivale Microbrewery is also based on the farm, with a tap room open Saturday and Sunday.
- MindFood run their wellbeing courses at Horsenden. Mindfood is an Ealing based charity that supports people with depression, anxiety and stress to improve their wellbeing through workshops and courses on gardening and horticulture. www.mindfood.org.uk
- Forest Buds and Be Wilder Education have forest school sessions at Horsenden Farm.
- Ealing Canoe Club is located on the Grand Union Canal at the foot of Horsenden Hill at Horsenden Farm. www.ealingcanoeclub.org.uk
- Bead Sew Crafty run therapeutic handicraft workshops for adults with learning disabilities additional needs. www.beadsewcrafty.com
- Solas School of Complementary Therapies offers bespoke Holistic Therapies in Reflexology, Massage, Crystals & Energy, and weekly Sound Baths. www.solascomplementarytherapies.com
Horsenden farm is a working farm, and as such the animal pens and growing sections are off limits and are not open to the public. However, the cows are often grazing in Longmead and Homemead meadows, which are open to the public, and the geese are usually visible over the orchard or paddock hedge.
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