About the Holland Park Ecology Centre

The Holland Park Ecology Centre provides an excellent facility for local schools to study and enjoy the natural environment, and can be booked for field trips, Forest School programmes, self-led sessions and two-hour long environmental education workshops throughout the year. Visiting groups can work independently or with a member of staff.   

Acitivities on offer

Our Outdoor Investigations take place in Holland Park Wildlife Area, which features a wildlife pond with a dipping platform, woodland and grassland habitat. Other outdoor spaces used for education include:

• The Edible Teaching Garden attached to the Ecology Centre, which contains an array of edible plants to explore and learn about food provenance. 
• The West Woodland, an area of accessible woodland. 
• Wider Holland Park, which provides opportunities to discover a range of tree species and flowering plants.  

Outdoor activities are often of particular benefit to groups with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). We welcome all SEND groups with and will work with you to meet your requirements. All our environmental education and Forest School sessions can be adapted to meet the needs of SEND groups, and we also work alongside teachers to create unique sessions accessible to their learners.  

Leaners with additional needs can benefit vastly from the repetition provided by a 6-week Forest School programme. Returning to the same space and rediscovering activities allows greater processing of information and development of memory skills. 

Whether you are coming for a one-off visit or a 6-week Forest School programme, we want to ensure all learners can access our sessions and benefit from the experience.  

Most sessions take place in the securely fenced Wildlife Area. The Wildlife Area has a system of woodchip and grass paths and two log circles for sitting. If your group has additional physical needs, please discuss this with us when booking as we have more accessible sites which may be more suitable. 

Before visiting

Before a visit we can send photos and more information to enable learners to prepare.

We highly recommend group leaders visit us prior to their visit to complete risk assessments and familiarise themselves with the facilities and location. 

The Ecology Centre accepts bookings from school groups both within Kensington and Chelsea, the surrounding boroughs and beyond. We also take bookings from informal groups including home education groups and community groups including third age and scouting organisations. If we do not offer a session that meets your needs, we are happy to discuss a creating a bespoke session for your school or other group. 

We are a holder of the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge. Visit the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom website for more information.

Availability and Capacity

• The Ecology Centre is available from 9:30am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday, during official school terms.
• Sessions last from 2 hours to a full day, depending on your requirements.
• Sessions normally run from 10am to noon and 1 to 3pm (earlier starts and later finishes can be requested). 
• The Ecology Centre can cater for groups of up to 30 children with accompanying adults.

Lunchtime Arrangements 

• There are outdoor picnic areas, a café and ice-cream kiosk in Holland Park.
• There are unsupervised play areas including a toddler's playground (0-5 years) and an adventure playground, both within easy reach of the Ecology Centre.
• The Ecology Centre itself can be booked for lunch (as long as it does not conflict with another visit).