As 2008 draws to a close, the team at the Royal Parks Foundation, the charity for London's eight Royal Parks, has been reflecting on our most amazing year to date. Over the summer, we successfully ran three major projects, alongside our normal programme of fundraising activities.

Deckchair Dreams 2008

The 2008 collection of fabulous designer deckchairs from our Deckchair Dreams project, generously sponsored by Bloomberg has been extremely well received in the central Royal Parks. Our theme this year, "The Rare & Wonderful Things of the Royal Parks", inspired 23 top artists and celebrities, as well as six schools neighbouring the Royal Parks, plus a group of soldiers from the Household Cavalry! Although the chairs in the Parks have now been taken in for the winter months, you can view the entire collection at www.deckchairdreams.org and even purchase your own deckchairs from our limited-edition collection to enjoy in your own garden. Place your order by 15th December to receive your chairs before Christmas.

The Crystal Palace Summer Party raises £600,000!

Visitors to Hyde Park in September may have noticed the scale version of the 1851 Crystal Palace which housed the 1851 Great Exhibition. This stunning glass marquee was the venue for the Royal Parks Foundation annual summer party.

Generously sponsored by Candy & Candy on behalf of One Hyde Park, the 320 guests enjoyed a champagne reception hosted by Perrier-Jouët with U’luvka vodka cocktails and a sumptuous dinner before bidding with wild abandon in the charity auction. The event raised an incredible £600,000 to support the work of the Foundation including projects in Bushy and Hyde Parks.

On Sunday 12 October 2008, the Foundation launched central London’s first Half Marathon, starting and finishing in Hyde Park. The iconic route wound its way past some of London’s most historic features including Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Admiralty Arch and, of course, through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens amongst avenues of beautiful autumnal trees.

The inaugural race was won by Kenyan, John Muriithi, dressed as a white rabbit. John was one of four woodland creatures supported by event sponsor Nokia, and was pleased to be presented with a large bunch of carrots at the finish line! The fastest female was Natalie Gray, incredibly running her first Half Marathon and raising funds of our "Golden Oak" charity partner, Unicef.

After completing the race the runners and spectators enjoyed the Brakes Food and Fitness Festival in the unseasonally warm sunshine. In addition, over 160 charities from around Britain had runners in the race – to date over £1 million has been raised for these causes and our charity partners tell us the money is still coming in thick and fast!

The overall feedback after the event has been overwhelmingly positive. If you would like to take up the challenge of the 13.1 mile run in 2009, go to www.royalparkshalf.com to register your interest. At the same time, why not visit our official on-line kit store supplied by Crew Room, for a selection of sustainable Royal Parks Foundation branded running kit to get you started!

Diana Playground in Kensington Gardens

Another project we're focusing on is the restoration of the Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Playground in Kensington Gardens. Inspired by the stories of Peter Pan, it opened in 2000 and with its Pirate Galleon, Wigwam Camp, Treehouse Encampment and many other features, it encourages interaction and play in a safe, imaginative environment.

After seven years of lively use and over 5 million visitors, the playground is in need of some care and attention to bring back its magical shine. The Foundation is raising funds to help restore this wonderful playground, so that thousands more children can do what they do best and let their imaginations run wild. If you’d like to contribute, please send a donation to us at: Royal Parks Foundation, Diana Memorial Playground Appeal, Old Police House, Hyde Park, London W2 2UH. Every penny counts!