International Day of Older People 2025

We are inviting residents to join us to celebrate the International Day of Older People on Wednesday 1 October at our park cafés and visitor centre.

On the day, local people aged 65 years and over can enjoy a free meal of soup with a bread roll and a hot drink from 11:00 – 15:00 at our charity’s cafés in Alexandra Park (Poole), Redhill Park, and Winton Recreation Ground (both in Bournemouth).

We are also offering a free hot drink from 11:00 – 15:00 at Kingfisher Barn Visitor Centre on the Stour Valley Nature Reserve in Bournemouth.

No booking is required, people are invited to drop in on the day.

Our Chief Executive Officer of The Parks Foundation, John Hanson, said “This is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the older members of our community.

“Following the success of the day last year, when our cafes served more than 70 free bowls of soup to local people, we’re looking forward to welcoming even more residents to join us at our friendly community cafés and visitor centre to enjoy food and drink in the company of others – all in a beautiful park setting.

“Older people contribute so much to our charity, from giving their time to volunteer with our GreenFingers gardening groups, to attending our nature and wellbeing activities, and visiting our cafés.

“We’re delighted to take this opportunity to show our gratitude for the support we receive, and hopefully welcome some new faces to experience these fantastic parks, too.”

We would like to thank local company, Country Fare, and the Co-op Moordown store for donating the ingredients to make the soup.

Our charity works in more than 20 local parks across Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole, bringing people and nature together and enhancing the spaces for the benefit of wildlife and the community.

Our cafés are run almost entirely by volunteers, and profits are reinvested into our charity’s work.

For information about our cafés, visit our cafés page.

Published September 2025