ROAM'S Fifth Birthday : A celebration to remember

“I think the key’s stuck, it won’t open.”

Not exactly the words you want to hear an hour before your guests start arriving. But that’s how our Sunday afternoon began, outside the gates of Martineau Gardens with over 100 people due to join us for ROAM’s 5th Birthday celebration.

Thankfully, with a bit of jiggling (and perhaps a little birthday magic), the gate opened and we got started setting up for what turned out to be a truly joyful afternoon.

Marking 5 Years of ROAM

Back in July 2020, ROAM officially registered as a charity. By then, we had already been reinstating unsupervised outdoor play, to children in south Birmingham for over two years. Since then, we’ve welcomed hundreds more children, addressing more and more barriers to children’s free play in nature, and delivered more than 350 sessions in green spaces across the city.

So, on Sunday 29th June, we invited the ROAM community, past and present, to Martineau Gardens for an afternoon of celebration.

We knew we wanted to mark this milestone with the people who made it all possible: families, Trustees, session leaders and of course the children (and their grown-ups) who’ve been part of ROAM over the years.

The Highlights

The day had everything a birthday party should have: cake, laughter and sunshine…

Our Scavenger Hunt had families exploring the gardens to find letters that spelled a secret word. One letter did go walkabout at one point (roaming free..!), but most teams managed to solve the puzzle and claim their chocolatey rewards.
Cakes and ice lollies kept everyone fuelled and cool in the summer heat.
Speeches brought a few tears and lots of smiles. ROAM co-founder Naomi spoke about those early days – raising children in a city, craving nature and freedom, and the spark that led to ROAM’s creation. She gave heartfelt thanks to all of those who have played a pivotal role over the years – especially fellow co-Founder Lisa Walke, and our wonderful band of session leaders and the team behind the scenes, who make the magic happen on a daily basis.
Paralympian Claire Cashmore MBE, shared her story of perseverance and the power of can. Her words struck a real chord – many of the children who come to ROAM face challenges of their own, and Claire’s message really resonated with many families – as demonstrated by the enthusiastic applause after her speech. There was a buzz of excitement as children (and adults!) got to hold her Paralympic medals – including her gold from Rio. And who knows…. maybe one day a future ROAMer will follow in her footsteps.
Families wandered the gardens, enjoying the space and the sunshine. Our ROAM timeline was laid out for all to see – a visual representation of some of the key moments over the years.
And our ROAM Tree of Love was filled with heartfelt messages from families, old and new. Reading their words reminded us why we do what we do. It was moving, affirming, and a bit overwhelming (in a good way!)

Find more pictures from the event in the gallery below!

Huge thanks to Claire for giving her time so generously, to Martineau Gardens for lending us their beautiful space, and to Nick Robinson for capturing the day so beautifully through his lens.