The Eastbrookend Discovery Centre is an environmentally friendly visitor centre, opened in Eastbrookend in 1997 with funding from the Millennium Commission and designed to demonstrate best practice in environmental construction.
The centre is open to the public throughout the year. It is the base of operation for the Park Rangers Service and the venue for our Outdoor Classroom environmental education and outdoor learning sessions.
The building forms a natural gateway into the wide-open spaces of Eastbrookend Country Park and the Dagenham Chase Local Nature Reserve. Some of the park can be explored via a nature trail with rubbing posts leading through woodland and around lakes, and ‘Arty’s Sculpture Trail’ featuring wooden characters from the children’s book ‘Arty’s Eastbrookend Adventure’), both of which cover circular routes beginning and ending at the centre. The Discovery Centre also contains an introduction to the history of the site, along with the following facilities:
- Eastbrookend Country Park Tea Room (some charges apply)
- Education room (for use with school groups and available for private hire)
- Toilets and baby-changing facilities
- Children’s playground
- Outdoor gym
- Free car park
The centre acts as the focal point for visitors and provides a comfortable venue for walkers, school groups and anyone wanting to learn more about the local countryside or environment. The Park Rangers office is located on the first floor.