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Welcome to the April edition of the Save Lea Marshes newsletter!
Spring is well underway, with many trees, plants and shrubs flowering early due to climate change. This can be a lovely thing for us humans, with sunnier weather and the beauty of many flowering blooms to look at but marks a whole shift for our struggling wildlife and the delicate balance of which creatures and organisms can and will survive.
LAST CALL FOR OUR RIVER LEA PILGRIMAGE!
We are busy with exciting last minute preparations and getting our walking boots out for the very first modern-day pilgrimage along the River Lea! We'll be doing daily walks over nine days, from Saturday 25 April to Sunday 3 May, walking from the source to the mouth of the river to establish river rights. We will be taking water samples from the Lea as we go along and making the walks a bit of an occasion with river blessings and surprise fun elements. Free tickets are going fast for the weekend walks, and the final journey is fully booked, but there are still plenty of places available on the weekday walks! Secure your place now via TicketSource. Artwork by Famke
REPORT BACK FROM THE PICNIC FOR THE COMMUNITY PLANNING ALLIANCE DAY OF ACTION
Photos by Julian and Solene.
April was an early month to have a first picnic but we were very lucky with warm and sunny weather. SLM were delighted to be joined by old and new friends to share food and make a stand against the neglect of the Waterworks Centre and encroaching inappropriate development.
We were highlighting the many tall buildings that are planned around the Waterworks Meadow, at the Gasworks site, Lammas Road and Rigg Approach, tower blocks of up to twenty storeys . Even LVRPA officers said the Authority should object to the Lammas Road and Rigg Approach proposals which it failed to do. The tall buildings, which will be right next to the Waterworks, will tower over the tree line - you can read more about this on our Facebook group or website! The effect of the Motion Towers, which are some way away, on the open landscape can be seen clearly in the photo above. We discussed the deliberate dereliction of the Waterworks Centre by the LVRPA, which has now lost its cafe, community function and is no longer a base for the Waterworks Nature Reserve. The LVRPA have even removed all the outdoor seating!
It was a small fun gathering and a good opportunity to catch up with interested parties and talk about ideas for the future!
ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER FIRE ON THE MARSHES!
I was doing some watering in my front garden a couple of weeks ago, when a friend came by and told me there had been another fire on Walthamstow Marshes, close to where the fire broke out about this time last year on North Marsh. I couldn't find any press coverage of it but the damage, witnessed from the Lea Valley train line appears extensive. Check out our Instagram for the photos. Let's hope that there are no more marsh fires this year, as there was more than one last year.
OXBOW SWAN SONG
SLM members take regular walks around the marshes to keep up to date with what's going on and the condition of the marshes and taking photographic evidence. One thing we do each year, around March, is to look out for the swans nesting on the Oxbow. As we have reported in the past, there have been a regular pair nesting on an inlet in the river bank, who then moved to the nearby public restricted area when destructive works were being carried out. We've been monitoring both spaces (Swans usually nest around March), but to date we've not seen a pair nesting this year. There are a pair nesting further up in the Marina area where the regular pair were attacked last year by other swans, believed to be the disturbed Oxbow pair. We will maintain our watch but its now getting very late in the season, so we are concerned that the Swans no longer feel secure in that space. We have long been campaigning to have the Oxbow closed off as a wildlife refuge - what it was before the LVRPA and CRT 'opened up' the island and there were Otters there.
STILL TIME TO SAVE WHITEWEBBS PARK!
On 24-25 June, in just two months time, the Guardians of Whitewebbs are off to the High Court to challenge Tottenham Hotspur's takeover of Whitewebbs Park in Enfield. They want ten more training pitches for their women's team, despite already having 17 new pitches for their men's team which could easily be shared. Supporters are being invited to dress up as animals outside the High Court, make up protest songs to sing and add some fun to this serious case. The Guardians are still fundraising for the case on their Crowdjustice page.
EARTH DAY BIG GIVE
Coinciding with Earth Day - a whole week of opportunities to double the money given to environmental organisations for the week up to April 29th, via the Big Give. These are just three of the many deserving organisations that we know of:
London Waterkeeper, who are seeking funds to help challenge Thames Water over the failure of their services e.g. sewage outflows.
Bat Conservation Trust, who can double their donations of up to £10k until 29 April for their "Echoes in the Night - Protect Bats for All" campaign
Wildlife Trusts, who are fundraising to buy the Rothbury Estate to secure 3,800 hectares of moorland, woodland and wetland to restore wildlife, support local communities and create one of England’s largest areas for nature.
BOOK NOOK
Save Lea Marshes suggested book of the month is Wilderlands The Human History of Wild Britain by Eloise Kane, published by Faber, paperback approximately £20. The Author is an archaeologist and her book marries her work and research from the Mesolithic period to the present day and points out that humans have been present before and after the la Ice Age and that there are signs of our human habitation in wild areas and its effects down the ages. The book suggests that even 8,000 years ago, Mesolithic people were clearing and burning lands for charcoal, and that this has lead to the use of trees such as blackthorn, hazel and crab apple as sources of food. Furthermore, there are no original "wildwoods" left, with our so called "Ancient" forests being just centuries old. Eloise Kane's position on re-wilding is that as the climate changes and biodiversity collapses it is easy to long for some "perfect" past, but instead we should be making the difference by looking at ways of living that serve both humans and wildlife. How we should do that is not fully answered, however. A book that should create interest and debate.