About

Mudder Earth*💜🤎 is an outdoor play, discovery and creativity group, based in parks and woodlands in and around Crystal Palace, South Norwood & Thornton Heath.

🌲☀️🍁🐦‍⬛🎨❄️🐛⛺️🌳🌻🐞🔎🎊

Inspired by a lifelong love of art & nature. Informed by my experiences as a mum and volunteer in Early Years and Forest School settings.

We get together to get back to the good stuff of childhood. Come and join us for…

• Child-led free-play like messy mud kitchens, minibeast spotting, potion making and lots more to explore 👨🏾‍🍳🔎🐛🐞
• Grown-up supported craft and other activities – e.g. making art with natural and recycled materials, building dens, making bird-feeders…🎨♻️⛺️🔨👩‍👧‍👦

Designed to connect you and your little ones to nature, other local families, and your selves.

All our groups include drinks + fruit snacks for the children, and tea/coffee for the grown ups ☕️🍫🍏🍌. Dairy free options always available. 🐮💜

*= formerly trading as ‘Mudder Nature’, still me :-)

When & Where?

FAMILY PLAYDATES aimed primarily at 1-7 year olds (1-4 year olds for term-time school hours) & their families – babies under 1 always join siblings for free

Our relaxed groups for families include lots of minibeasty-muddy-bubbly fun with nature-based art projects and other activities tailored to your little ones’ ages & stages – working together with natural and recycled materials. Plus hot chocolates with all the trimmings in autumn/winter (fruit kebab making in spring/summer)

• Sundays 10-11:30 for 1-7 year olds in the beautiful wooded Grangewood Park, SE25 – meeting point here – You’ll find us under our trusty Giant Pine by the sunken gardens. With a chalk sign and generally lots of bubbles, rainbow parachute, etc 🌳🍂🎊📍🎉
• Mondays at our NEW autumn/winter basecamp of the Meadow at St John’s Church, SE19
  • 10-11.30 for 1-4 year olds in term-time. We close with hot chocolates/warm milk and stories in the hall to warm up after our adventures
  • 3.30-5 – for 1-7 year olds (approx). NEW After-School/Nursery/Nap “Twilight” Playdates – all the fun of the mornings but with a nocturnal twist, and campfire coming soon! Timed so older children and their families can enjoy too!

NATURE PLAYGROUP – CURRENTLY ON PAUSE – LIKELY UNTIL SPRING 2026

Our affordable playgroups are intended to get more children playing, discovering and creating outside in nature. We include a range of child-led activities suitable from around 8 months up, with drinks, snacks, nature-based stories and singing. Good childminder and sibling discounts are available.

• Spring 2026 timing (or sooner) TBC for return of this group

PARTIES – find out more

We also enjoy our pop-up seasonal specials, e.g. Halloween, Mothers’ Day, Easter, Summer & Winter Solstices… 🎉🎃☀️🐰🌙🎆

Our up-to-date schedule and booking is available via Happity

Our Grangewood Park meeting point (and Mudder Earth ‘HQ’) is now on Google Maps.

Photos of our home in Grangewood Park:

This is just the start and we’re liaising with other potential venues to set up more weekly and pop up Mudder Earth happenings in and around Crystal Palace and South Norwood

Photos from autumn/winter Mudder Earth playdates – we’re here year round!:

Our up-to-date schedule and booking is available via Happity