A new Playbox facilitated by Northern Heart and Soul CIC has been set up in Beech Hill, Wigan, for the 2023 Summer Holidays.

The Playbox is a special container created by Playful Anywhere which is filled with toys and games, as well as lots of materials to think outside the box and get creative with.

Kids and adults alike can enjoy spending time together outdoors using the items in the Playbox which enhances the experience of using their local park.

Our Media Cubs team has been visiting the park over the Summer to add to the fun and deliver media workshops alongside the other activities, giving young people the chance to have a go at photography, videography, news reporting and stop-motion filmmaking.

We also grabbed a special video of everyone enjoying the park which really captures the community atmosphere that the box has brought to the area.

Gill Wright, co-founder of Northern Heart & Soul, said: “It’s brought in a whole range of people that don’t usually come to the other associational spaces that we have, so it’s been a real community connector and friendship maker.”

Kirsty Day, co-founder of Media Cubs, said: “It was excellent to see everyone enjoying the park and it was so fun to get some of the young people there involved with trying out new media skills. People of all ages seemed really open to learning new things and working together – even if they had just met!”

The box was funded with the help of The National Lottery Awards For All and the Brighter Borough fund by Wigan Council.