New story trail to open at Peterborough’s Central Park

The story trail, which is part of the Hungry Little Minds campaign, officially opens on Tuesday, July 6 at 10am for families of children aged two to five.

The trail is based on a bespoke story about monkeys and giraffes in the local park written by children’s author Rebecca Lewis-Oakes and illustrated by Aaron Cushley.

It will lead families around the park as they follow the adventures of Uncle Josh, Mia, Kai and their dog Scruffy. This brand new immersive experience will aid children’s language and literacy development as they fill out their booklet while following the story around the park.

The Hungry Little Minds team have specially invited families, carers, guardians and early years settings across Peterborough to the launch of the story trail. Upon arrival families will find Mask Theatre Group which will be bringing the story to life while families are on their adventure around the park.

The launch day will be following government guidelines to ensure that the event is Covid-19 safe, therefore the event is limited to 30 places with two interactive sessions taking place throughout the course of the day.

All children who complete the story trail will receive a free Hungry Little Minds activity pack full with chat, play and read resources. There will also be a competition for families to get involved in to win a voucher to use at the Willow Café.

Following the event, the story trail booklet will be available to pick up from the Willow Café.

The launch in Peterborough is one of 12 story trails being set up across the country as part of the Hungry Little Minds campaign, funded by the Department for Education and delivered by the National Literacy Trust.

The campaign provides families of children under five with lots of simple and fun activities to easily slot into their daily routines while building their child’s speech and language skills at home.

Author Rebecca said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be working with the National Literacy Trust and local partners in Peterborough on this project. It has been a pleasure to discover so many beautiful parks across the country and view them through the exuberant imagination of pre-schoolers.

“I hope this Hungry Little Minds story trail encourages families to explore and enjoy Peterborough Central Park, with a gentle underlying prompt toward those key earlyyYears learning concepts. I look forward to seeing the little one’s reactions as they make their way around the magical trail.”

Lisa Clissett, events and volunteering officer for Hungry Little Minds in Peterborough, said: “This is so exciting for families using the park as it gives them something to do together as they go around the park and encourages them to use their imagination along the way.

“The story trail encourages families to chat, play and read in a fun and interactive way. The more fun we have, the more we learn!”

Sally Atkinson, hub manager for Peterborough Reads, said: “What a great project to promote the love of stories for the youngest of children in Peterborough and how exciting to have a story specifically written about Peterborough Central Park.

“I hope the story trail will ignite children’s imagination and support the development of their communication and language as parents and carers will talk to the children about the story and the experience. What a great example of place-based working to promote the enjoyment of reading.”