Chair's update: September

Tom Walker, Chair

The war memorial at the heart of Abney Park is maintained by the Trust thanks to a grant from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). The CWGC will be visiting the park for a day of events later this month.

We have been working hard over the summer to set our programme of autumn events, arguably the most beautiful time of the year in Abney. Alongside these we have a lot of interesting and engaging walks and activities coming up, ranging across history and ecology. We are always looking for more ideas and potential collaborators for these, so do get in touch.

We also have free walks as part of our next open day on 24th September. Do come along; we love doing this sort of thing and meeting people.

We have two really important achievements this month:

- Thanks to some money from the Hello Again, Hackney fund, we have published our free children's walk round Abney. This beautifully designed trail helps bring the cemetery to life. We loved working with local artists Sarah Finke and Susanna Burton on this and copies are available locally or from us direct. We have plenty to share with schools and community groups. so if you want some, get in touch.

- We have hit our fundraising target for the monument to Victorian aeronaut pioneer Mrs Graham. Watch this space for more details on the plans for unveiling, but we are so grateful to everyone who has contributed. It is an amazing community effort and will be a permanent memorial to an amazing woman.

Finally, we are still looking for a volunteer to join us as Treasurer. It is a fun role to be part of the team, so if you are interested or know anyone who would be then please get in touch. It doesn't require any special financial knowledge.