On the 25th of April, we’ll be turning 26 and running a marathon. 26 miles for 26 years (Lydia’s idea !). Lydia will be running around Lake Zurich and Henry through London to the resting place of our grandfather at Theydon Bois Cemetery. If you would like to support our marathon efforts (or wish us Happy Birthday from afar!) we would welcome donations to this JustGiving page which will be given to the Theydon Bois and District Rural Preservation Society

Further details on the cause and what your donations will achieve:

Our grandfather, Bob Day (Poppa), gave tirelessly to the village of Theydon Bois. It is a village on the outskirts of London which is surrounded by Green Belt Land called Epping Forest. It has been 'The People's Forest' since the 12th century and it is protected by legislation to keep it 'unenclosed and unbuilt on as an open space for the recreation and enjoyment of the people'.

As well as being lifelong resident and President of the Rural Preservation Society, Poppa cherished his community and gave his all to keep it vibrant and green. Taken 6 years ago by lung cancer, his spirit lives on in the community as a tree planted by the Village Hall in his memory by the people of Theydon. We would like to continue his preservation efforts by fundraising money for the Theydon Bois and District Rural Preservation Society, specifically for their youth engagement efforts. Our mother Nicola Maher who is a secondary school Governor, primary school Special Educational Needs Coordinator as well as Committee member of the Rural Preservation Society, will be coordinating these efforts on the ground. Some ideas of the sorts of initiatives this will allow: 'Green Shoots' for youth members, which will focus on supporting young people to understand and value their local environment, so that they can be guardians of the future. This will include youth environmental education camps, youth walks through the forest, information packs and other events.

We were fortunate to be around someone who was able to teach us so much about the beauty of our surrounding area, making Epping Forest somewhere incredibly close to our hearts. We believe that teaching younger members of the community to cherish the forest as we learnt to is crucial to its conservation. On a wider scale, grassroots youth action is crucial for the system change needed to solve our current planetary emergency. In this light, maintaining and funding organizations such as the Theydon Bois and District Rural Preservation Society is doubly important.

We leave you with some lyrics from Poppa's favorite song:

I see trees so green, red roses too

I see them bloom for me and you

And I think to myself what a wonderful world.