Froglife

Leaping forward for reptiles and amphibians

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Leaping Forward for Dementia in London

Froglife’s Leaping Forward for Dementia in London project, supported by The Hospital Saturday Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund, empowers people living with dementia and their support network to safely access the benefits of nature and the outdoors. 

Wild Times

We offer weekly Wild Times sessions in and around the Lambeth area which include: wildlife gardening, nature walks & talks, nature-inspired creative activities and opportunities to share memories and socialise with others. Wild Times welcomes the whole community, but sessions are particularly suitable for people living with dementia, their support network, and people looking to improve their health, wellbeing and confidence.

Wild Times sessions 2026:

When

 Where

 

Mondays, 14:00 – 15:30

Bandstand Beds Community Garden, Windmill Drive, Clapham Common

We meet at the Bandstand Beds Community Garden gates at 2pm. During this session we work alongside and socialise with the Bandstand Beds Grown Up Gardening volunteers. 
Thursdays, 10:00 – 12:00 The Rookery Gardens, Streatham Common

We meet outside the Rookery Café at 10am.  During this session we work alongside and socialise with Streatham Common Cooperative staff and volunteers. 

All of our locations are accessible and have access to toilets, kitchens and sheltered areas. We also stop for refreshments and snacks during the sessions.

What to expect from our sessions:

Planting tree saplings on Streatham Common
Working together to build a giant bug hotel
A wildflower walk in the sunshine at Lewisham Hospital Garden
Making hand soap…out of conkers!
A spot of pond dipping at The Rookery Gardens
Planting sunflower seeds at Home Instead’s Sunflower cafe
Exploring the acid grassland on Streatham Common
Pond dipping at Bandstand Beds Community Garden
Surveying pollinators with dementia carers from Lambeth Carers
Using botanicals to naturally dye fabric
Charcoal art
Creating beautiful tree rubbings
A geology walk with Dr Iain Boulton
A fungi walk with Fight for Wildlife
One of the many common frogs and their frogspawn at Bandstand Beds pond
A lovely smooth newt found when gardening at The Rookery Gardens
Toadspawn at The Rookery Gardens

In addition to our Wild Times sessions we also offer:

  • Wild Skills sessions: These are workshop sessions where nature related skills are taught to people living with dementia and/or their carers. These workshops are delivered by Froglife, other wildlife organisations or practitioners. These run regularly at Wild Times locations or as one-off sessions at other locations.
  • Wild Things sessions: These are carers-only events where activities, information, resources and advice are provided to inspire and motivate dementia carers to improve their own wellbeing, and the wellbeing of the person they are caring for by accessing nature and the outdoors. These run at Wild Times locations or at Carers Hub locations.
  • Wild Memories sessions: These are sessions where we invite people living with dementia to share their wildlife/nature/outdoor memories with us. These run regularly at Wild Times locations or as one-off sessions at other locations.

If you would like to find out more or would like us to run a Wild Skills, Wild Things or Wild Memories session at your location please contact: rose.williams@froglife.org

We are a dementia friendly organisation and our Leaping Forward for Dementia team regularly update their training in first aid, understanding dementia and managing risk and nature experiences.

Leaping Forward for Dementia London is supported by The Hospital Saturday Fund. Thanks to their support, we are able to reach more people in south London who are affected by dementia.

Leaping Forward for Dementia London is supported by The National Lottery Community Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to continue to run our popular Wild Times groups in south London for people affected by dementia.