Green Matters
Target met to plant 1000 trees
A pledge to plant 1,000 street trees in Hackney by 2010 has been fullfiled – a year ahead of schedule.
Mayor Jules Pipe promised in 2006 that more than 1,000 new trees would grace the borough’s streets, and on 11 March, one of 43 saplings planted by the Council’s arboricultural team in Dynevor Road, N16, hit the target.
So far during the current season – November 2008 to March 2009 – the team has planted over 180 different species of tree across Hackney. Mayor Pipe, who was joined by ward councillors and residents to mark the occasion.
He said: “This would not have been possible without the support of residents who have come forward with requests for new trees.
“We are committed to investing in new street trees across the borough and will continue to plant many more. Thank you and well done to everyone involved in the programme.”
The locations of the new trees are in response to requests from residents and local business people.
Ingrid Beattie, a member of the Dynevor Road Tree Group, said: “We would like to thank the Council for responding so promptly and positively to our request for trees to be planted on our road.
“The new trees are delightful and have transformed the road. We feel this is a wonderful example of the Council and residents working together to achieve a common goal.”
Thanks were also given to resident Nadine Cartner who initiated and championed the planting programme in her road.
The Council is looking for more people willing to act as tree champions for their areas, and to help water and monitor the newly planted trees.
More information
Hackney is preparing its planting programme for the 2009/10 season. To suggest a location or become a Tree Champion, call: 020 8356 3000 or email: info@hackney.gov.uk
More of Maisie
Organic food fans can now take advantage of two new pick-up points for their fresh fruit and vegetables.
The Growing Communities organic box scheme, based in Stoke Newington, specialises in salad bags, which start life in plots of land in the heart of Hackney.
The community-led project has teamed up with organic store Mother Earth, which has branches at Albion Road, N16, and Newington Green Road, N1. The produce is dropped off every Wednesday by Maisie, Growing Communities’ eye-catching cow milk-float, or by bike trailer.
Scheme co-ordinator, Nicki East, said:
“By working with Mother Earth we’re enabling more people to access the seasonal, organic fruit and vegetables we supply. Last year 80 per cent of our vegetables came from local organic producers, and picking up your bags from a local shop – instead of having them delivered, cuts down on the number of cars and vans on our streets.”
Growing Communities already has established pick-up points at Pogo’s Cafe in Clarence Road, E5, the Pavilion Cafe in Victoria Park, Stoke Newington Old Fire Station, Hackney City Farm, E2 and Chat’s Palace, E9.
More information
To join the scheme, check out prices, food options and delivery times call: 020 7502 7588, or visit: www.growingcommunities.org
The birds and the bees
New wildlife habitats are set to be created as part of the 2012 Olympic Park.
The planned 45 hectares of diverse parklands and conservation areas will provide habitats for a vast array of birds, insects and animals.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) laid out its aims in its Biodiversity Action Plan, which includes a commitment to construct 525 bird boxes and 150 bat boxes in venues, buildings and bridges in the park.
David Higgins, ODA Chief Executive said: “The Olympic Park will form part of a network of interconnected green spaces with the waterways running through the centre as an ecological corridor.
“We will be creating new habitats and enhancing the biodiversity of the area while also increasing the local community’s access to natural green spaces and wildlife.”
The ODA will also help to regenerate local waterway habitats with a programme of invasive species control, bank remodelling and the creation of aquatic vegetation and bankside habitats, including nesting banks for kingfishers, wetland habitats for grey herons and two otter holts.
The habitats are being designed to ensure they are not effected by the thousands of people who will visit the Olympic Park during the Games.
Plans for developing the Olympic Park include creating:
- 1.8 hectares of reed beds for roosting and breeding birds, otters and voles
- 3 hectares of grassland for invertebrates, flower beetles, ground bugs and bees
- 5 hectares of brown field habitats including log walls, stone-filled baskets and tall herbs to attract lizards, birds, moths and linnets
- 10 hectares of woodland and hedgerows
- 0.9 hectares of wet woodland – a rare habitat type for amphibians, snakes and birds
- 4,000 m2 of ‘living roof’ space for birds and rare insects
- 4 new ponds – two of which will be designed for breeding amphibians
- 4 sites for common lizards with quiet, sunny, south-facing slopes near woodland or rich grasslands
- 4 wetland and grassland habitats that can act as egg-laying sites for grass snakes
More information
Read the ODA’s Biodiversity Action Plan at: www.london2012.com/plans/olympicpark/index.php
A video blog from an Olympic Park ecologist can also be viewed at: www.london2012.com/blog/2009/02/27/ecology-update-on-the-park.php
Just add water
A project to find new food growing spaces in London has been launched in Hackney by journalist Rosie Boycott.
British Waterways has signed up to work with experts from the new Capital Growth project to identify suitable spaces for growing food, including land alongside canals. The first plot will be a stretch along the Hertford Union Canal in Hackney Wick. It will be planted and tended by Growing Concerns, a community-based gardening and landscaping team dedicated to improving the environment for those living and working in East London.
Rosie, who is chair of London Food, said: “The response we have had has been really amazing. We are now working with a wide range of groups and organisations who are enthused by the prospect of growing their own in London to the benefit of our local communities.”
British Waterways’ Chairman, Tony Hales, added: “We are working hard to identify any suitable land along London’s waterways that we or others might not be using, and matching them up with local groups and schools looking to grow their own food.
We’re also looking into more creative options, such as giving a new lease of life to some of our retired workboats, converting them into floating vegetable gardens to provide growing opportunities in even the most built-up of areas.”
A total of 14 groups have now signed up to the pilot scheme, which was launched in November.
More information
Call: 020 7837 1228; or visit: www.capitalgrowth.org.
Trolley good idea for waterways
A hotline for people to report trolleys dumped in rivers and canals has gone live.
Residents who spot a trolley in the River Lee, or Regents and Grand Union canals can now call the British Waterways Trolley Hotline.
The information will be used to help recover the trolleys, map hotspot areas, and identify a league table of the nation’s least and most environmentally responsible retailers.
A Golden Trolley Award will be presented to the retailer showing best environmental management, while an Off Your Trolley Award will go to the least responsible.
Over £150,000 is spent each year recovering thousands of abandoned trolleys from Britain’s 2,200-mile network of canals and rivers.
Robin Evans, British Waterways chief executive, said: “Shopping trolleys are symbolic of the mindless pollution that takes place along our canals and rivers every year and, frankly, we are fed up with having to clean up after other people.”
Clive Henderson, Inland Waterways Association (IWA) chair added:
“Abandoned trolleys are unsightly, costly to remove, and spoil the outlook for the millions of people who visit the waterways each year. They also cause costly damage to boats.”
More information
To log a trolley sighting call:01923 201 120 or visit: www.britishwaterways.co.uk/trolley.
Nappy happy
A nursery's trial of real nappies has proved so successful that staff have decided to use them permanently for their babies and toddlers.
Roundabout Nursery at Homerton hospital was the first nursery – now one of three across Hackney – to make the switch.
The Council’s Recycling Team has been working with environmental charity Groundwork East London to encourage nurseries across the borough to change from disposable to real nappies in order to save money and reduce waste.
Nursery Services Manager, Margaret Bingham-Crisp, said: “The change over to real nappies has been simple and successful for us, with happy babies, parents and staff. I’ll be visiting other nurseries to explain the virtues and simplicity of using cloth nappies.”
Nursery managers are invited to visit the Roundabout Nursery to see for themselves how simple, safe, cost-saving and environmentally friendly real nappies can be.
More information
To convert to real nappies for free call Imogen at GWEL on 020 8985 1755 or email: imogen.sherwood@groundworkeastlondon.org
Green gathering
The first gathering of the Hackney Environment Network will be a day of discussion at the Arcola Theatre, E9.
The event, on 14 March, will include lunch and aims to shape the direction of the new network.
Cllr Sophie Linden, Cabinet member for Sustainability, and Mary Cannon, Chair of Hackney's Community Empowerment Network, will outline plans for the borough and there will be a Q&A session.
Workshops are from 10am to 4pm and include sessions on getting heard and achieving change; climate change; sustainability; keeping Hackney green; and combating mass extinction.
To register call: 07714 945 971; or email: hackneyenv@tiscali.co.uk.
Page updated: 15 Jun 2010
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