The Hive

03/10/2026

We have a few last-minute places on our Woodland Wellbeing Weekend next weekend. Discounted to just £125 when booked directly with The Hive. These are an absolute steal for a weekend of wellbeing workshops, food and accommodation. All ticket sales close soon, so drop us an email if you are interested.

Nurture your greatest asset: yourself! Invest in a weekend of wellbeing activities in Epping Forest, designed to restore body and mind.

16/09/2026

🍄🌳 Epping Forest Fungi Walk with The Hive 🍄🌳

Dive into the fascinating world of the ‘wood wide web’ on this beginner friendly guided walk and exploration through the forest in search of all kinds of fungal life!

The walk will be led by Environmental Education Officer and fungi enthusiast, Abi (they/them), and will be taken at a leisurely pace.

Tuesday 27 October, 5pm to 7pm. Suitable for adults and children aged 8+. Book now via Eventbrite 🔗

*Limited low income tickets available.

Please note: This is NOT a foraging walk. We will not be picking any mushrooms as it is against the byelaws of Epping Forest.

08/09/2026

A little snapshot into the magic that was our summer Forest School Drop Off Days, both at The Hive and at our new satellite site in Langthorne Park. Our Langthorne Park events were part funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, allowing us to reach more families in the Southern parts of the borough.💚💚

Across both sites we were challenged this summer as the prolonged drought conditions meant no campfire cooking, but we experimented with solar ovens and cooled ourselves down with nettle tea. Of course with plenty of time for our usual climbing, building, crafting and hammocking. 🍂🔨🌳

In October half term we will be running Drop Off Days across four dates 📆

Mon 26 - At Langthorne
Wed 28 to Fri 30 - At The Hive

Tickets will go on sale next week. So keep an eye on our socials and our website so you do not miss out! 💚💚

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/55257220763?_gl=1*9490gb*_up*MQ..*_ga*OTQ0MDIyODU2LjE3ODg4Nzc5MjQ.*_ga_TQVES5V6SH*czE3ODg4Nzc5MjQkbzEkZzEkdDE3ODg4Nzc5NzMkajExJGwwJGgw

Please note that events at Langthorne park are aimed at families that live or go to school in Leyton and Leytonstone due to National Lottery Funding.

18/08/2026

We still have lots of spaces left on our Forest School Drop Off Day in Langthorne Park this coming Monday. This is the final day of four pilot sessions at the Hive’s newly developed Forest School area in the heart of the borough. The session’s have been part funded by the National Lottery Fund and we are hoping the feedback from these events can be used to secure more funding to run nature
connection events in the park. 🌿💚🌳

So far, we have made stone age spears carving and shaping slate, made paint out of natural materials, built lots of dens and found lots of bugs. 🐛🖌️🏕️

Come and be a part of our exciting new venture!
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/langthorne-park-forest-school-drop-off-days-tickets-1989368001244

14/08/2026

Summer HAF 2026 ☀️ 🍽️ 🌳

Last week we completed another successful HAF programme for children on free school meals.

The week included lots of fun forest and nature-based activities as well lots of tasty and healthy food! One child even said, “This is the best meal I’ve ever had at a holiday club ever!” 🍝

HAF is made possible through funding from Waltham Forest Council

10/08/2026

Our soapstone carving workshop is great for those aged 11+ interested in hands-on crafts using tools 🪚

Craft a worry stone, pendant or ornament from natural soapstone 🪨

Date: 28 August
Time: 1pm to 3pm
Cost: £20pp (plus Eventbrite fees) All resources included

Find out more and book via Eventbrite - link in our bio 🔗

05/08/2026

We have been very busy at the Hive with a myriad of summer activities, from bioblitz and storytime events to library visits and Forest School.

Excitingly this week we have hosted our first two activities at our new Forest School Area in Langthorne Park!

On monday we held the first of four Forest School drop off days, where we practised hapazome, an ancient japanese leaf printing technique and made wooden name badges. Today we held the first of three conservation events to help build a bug hotel for the park. It's been great to chat to locals and see what sort of events they would love to see in the park. 🌳💚

There are still spaces on our drop off days and conservation events so visit the eventbrite link below for more information. All events have been part funded by the National Lottery Community fund and further concessions are available for families that need it.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/the-hive-55257220763

Please note these events are for families local to the park in Leyton and Leytonstone.

30/07/2026

A big ‘thank you’ to all the families who took part in our first ever Family BioBlitz Day! ☀️🪲

With your help, we managed to log 59 different species! 🤯 This data will be used alongside further ecological monitoring, to help us getter a better understanding of the species that live here and how we can protect them.

Photos © Jenna Selby

15/07/2026

Join The Hive (London Borough of Waltham Forest) on Thurs 23rd of July for a Family BioBlitz Day! Expect a fun day of pond dipping, meadow sweeping, nature inspired crafts and animal handling sessions.

Time: 10am – 2:30pm, 23rd July.
Location: The Hive, Church Road, High Beach, Loughton, Essex, IG10 4AJ

Find out more and book your tickets through their website - https://thehiveintheforest.co.uk/calendar-events-and-activities

12/07/2026

Another busy week here at The Hive as we approach the end of summer term ☀️ Here’s your weekly round up! This week is a wildlife special!

Up first, check out this Painted Lady butterfly 🦋 We are experiencing a particularly vibrant ‘Painted Lady Summer’, as it has been the largest arrival of painted lady butterflies in Britain for 17 years. This is likely due to the heatwaves we have been experiencing, and favourable winds, pushing these migratory butterflies through the mediterranean and southern europe, and eventually to the British Isles.

Have you spotted any Painted Lady’s this summer?



Check out this tray full of newts!! We have found lots of newt poles in our raised ponds recently, most likely Smooth Newt species.

How many can you count in this tray?

A fantastic surprise for us this week - a Hummingbird Hawk Moth 🤩

Check out that long proboscis, used for sucking up nectar from flowers 🌷

To escape the heat, campers have enjoyed making forest art in the shade, which has proven to be a very mindful and relaxing activity which is a great wind down and transitional activity.

Here is a mini campfire created by one student - how cute! 🔥

Year 5 students learnt all about climate change and sustainability in our full day session. We covered natural resources, measured trees in the forest to investigate carbon storage, and enjoyed a map trail around site to explore some of the sustainable features we use at The Hive.

Environmental Education Officer, Abi, delivered a talk and workshop to Secondary School students during their Pride celebration. The theme was envisioning positive futures and celebrating joy 🌈

Another exciting wildlife find this week - a Buff Tip moth 🤯

These moths are experts at camouflage, looking exactly like a snapped twig from a Birch tree!! Genius!

Nursery children enjoyed a Stickman story adventure through the forest 🌳

Look at these stick people by their family tree!