Good causes

Join a Laughing Yoga event raising money for Comic Relief at Costa Coffee in Church Road, Stanmore, on Saturday, March 16, between 6.30pm and 7.15pm.

Participants will be led by teacher Melly B through a series of deep breathing, therapeutic techniques and playful exercises designed to encourage spontaneous laughter.

The suggested donation to Red Nose Day is £5.

GRAB lunch at a pop-up restaurant being run inside a Stanmore church on Saturday, March 9.
Harrow Woodcraft Folk, a charity that organises outdoor activities for boys and girls and celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2012, will offer a £6 freshly-prepared Fair Trade set meal at its cafe inside Stanmore Baptist Church Hall in Abercorn Road, Stanmore, between 1pm and 3pm.

FOUR girls chose an unlikely way to raise money by dressing up as a giant caterpillar.

Rhian Morris, 21, and Gemma Gold, 19, are neighbours from Bush Grove, Stanmore, and are planning to travel to Uganda with two friends Lisa Berkoff, 20, and Rachael Correya, 21.

CHILDREN who are both deaf and blind will benefit from funds raised by the Harrow-based chapter of a global spiritual movement.

The UK branch of the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission Dharampur - a trust based on the Jain faith's two main principles of non violence and manysidedness - held a sponsored 'Love Of Faith' walk in central London on June 30 and gave half of the proceeds, or £65,278, to hearing and eyesight loss charity Sense International on Friday.

A HUGE restoration project has been given the go ahead at Bentley Priory Nature Reserve thanks to large grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The fund, which distributes cash to sites of national importance and lists Harrow as one of its London priority areas, has handed the borough £59,500 for the wildlife area in Stanmore.

Furze Heath and The Greensward form part of the 55-hectare Bentley Priory site of special scientific interest (SSSI).

It contains unimproved species-rich grassland that is rare in London and in decline across the country.

Peter Peretti, volunteer warden for the reserve, said: "I have had the privilege of being associated with the management of Bentley Priory Nature Reserve for 25 years in a voluntary capacity.

"This grant made possible by Heritage Lottery Fund in order to restore and extend the SSSI grassland areas is of immense importance to the present and future value of this local nature reserve.

"It will be asserting its status as a site of metropolitan importance both scientifically and to the communities of Harrow and London."

In order to help the restoration project, the nature reserve management committee will be recruiting volunteers to carry out a range of tasks. Other volunteers will attend courses about the local habitat, including how to identify species.

The project, which will continue until early 2015, will return the grassland areas to the more open appearance that was a common feature of Victorian times.

Local schools will also get involved, including some hands-on help from GCSE and A-level students and an education pack to help younger pupils learn more about the area's biodiversity.

PARALYMPIC experts took sporty children through their paces as part of a specialised gym open day.

The Aspire gym, at Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, welcomed more than 60 children from seven local schools to take part in activities and encouraged disabled children to get involved in sports.

PERFORMERS at a school will work with a local charity to put on a new production.

Pupils at Claremont High School are working with Age UK Brent to put on Two Dogs and Five Carriages and present a performance featuring year 12 students and older members of the community.

PUPILS and staff at a high school are celebrating becoming the first London-based school to receive a national award for sports leadership.

Park High School, in Thistelcroft Gardens, Stanmore, held an assembly on Thursday, April 24 and was awarded Sports Leader UK Leadership Academy Status by Sports Leader UK.

STANMORE: Kosher patisserie Popkakery in Canons Corner, London Road, sponsored a Moonlight Walk which saw more than 100 women spend the night strolling across London in torrential rain to raise more than £30,000 for Kisharon, a charity that helps Jewish adults and children with learning difficulties.

The bakery firm gave each participant a branded hooded sweatshirt to keep them warm during Saturday's 25km event as well as its signature treats-on-a-stick at the finish line.

FUTURE tennis stars made a racquet at a club in Edgware last weekend.

On Saturday April 21 budding young players took part in free tennis coaching sessions at The Drive Lawn Tennis Club.