More than half a million people from across the UK are set to take part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch by counting the birds in their gardens over the weekend of 28-30 January 2017. They’ll also make a record of the other wildlife they see throughout the year, providing a vital snapshot of UK nature. The largest wildlife survey in the world, the Big Garden Birdwatch has been running for over 30 years, and last year 519,000 people took part and over 8 million birds were counted. Despite its much-publicised decline in numbers, the House Sparrow (see photo above)…
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An amazing year of work for wildlife in Tower Hamlets The Council and Tower Habitats, the Tower Hamlets biodiversity partnership, have published the second annual progress report on the Local Biodiversity Action Plan. The report covers the year from October 2015 to September 2016 and can be downloaded here. This shows just how much fantastic work to enhance wildlife habitats has been done in our parks, gardens, water spaces and the built environment. Our numerous partner organisations, including housing associations, charities, community groups and the Council, have completed loads of great projects to create and enhance priority habitats, and provide…
Dave Bedford and Molly Gadenz of the Lower Regent’s Coalition write: So another year draws to a close and we wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a peaceful new year. A massive thanks to all of you who came out and helped this year, we could not do what we do without you all. You achieved a lot including: Over 400 bags of rubbish removed – 250 volunteers got involved, doing 1250 hours work – 12 metres of reed beds planted – 725 square feet of graffiti removed – 265 square metres of meadow prepared, including removal…
Tower Hamlets Homes has completed the restoration of the mixed native hedge along the eastern boundary of Matilda House. When this was first attempted in early 2015, many of the existing trees were left standing, and only those under 75 millimetres girth at chest height were coppiced, to avoid the need for Conservation Area consent. However, this left too much shade and competition for water, and establishment of the whips that were planted was very poor. So this year, the decision was made to secure Conservation Area consent to coppice most of the existing trees along the fence. This will…
Places in Tower Hamlets which are valuable for wildlife and provide local people with access to nature are identified as Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs). There are four grades of SINC – Metropolitan, Borough Grade 1, Borough Gradee 2 and Local importance. These receive protection from development under policies in the Council’s Local Plan, and are shown on the Adopted Policies Map. You can download the list and map of SINCs, and the citations that explain why each is important, from our Sites of Importance for nNature Conservation page. Guidance on identifying SINCs has been published by the…
by the Bow Churchyard gardeners: You will know St Mary & Holy Trinity as ‘Bow Church’, the one you pass as you negotiate the Bow flyover or the adjoining roundabout. It is hard to see in summer but, behind the screen of huge plane trees, the church is a thriving community with concerts and events raising funds for the church and various charities, as well as its regular services. Since March 2014, it has also run a weekly food bank in conjunction with the nearby Catholic Church of Our Lady & St Catherine of Siena, supported by a range of…
Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park has won two prestigious awards this autumn, to add to its ever-growing collection. The first of these was the Conservation and Wildlife Award at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Britain in Bloom awards. This is a national discretionary award, in association with BBC’s ‘Springwatch Do Something Great’ campaign, presented to the finalist that best demonstrated duty and commitment to the protection and enhancement of the flora and fauna in their local environment. The win was featured on the BBC’s Autumnwatch television programme on 27 October. Ken Greenway, Cemetery Park Manager, said “Thank you to all our staff…
Local fungus expert Keir Mottram found Hemipholiota populnea, a nationally rare fungus, in Copperfield Road Woodland Walk in Mile End Park in mid-November. Typically for the species, it was growing from the cut end of a large poplar log. While some fungi have few records because they are not easily noticed or very hard to identify, that is not the case for Hemipholiota populnea, of which the ‘Checklist of the British & Irish Basidiomycota’ states “This is a large and distinctive species, unlikely to be overlooked and thus probably genuinely rare”. Keir said “it’s a big, butch toadstool, so very…
The Tower Habitats grants scheme, run by the Tower Hill Trust with assitance from the Council’s Biodiversity Officer, provides grants of up to £2000 for schools and community groups in Tower Hamlets for projects which enhance biodiversity and contribute to the objectives of the Local Biodiversity Action Plan. Chisenhale Primary School received a grant earlier this year, and has created a fabulous new wildlife garden. Cassie Liversidge, who manages the school’s garden, tells the story: “We have transformed our nursery playground ground from a run down and over grown, messy area into a bee and wildlife friendly garden (see photo…
Tower Hamlets’ Victoria Park has been voted as one of the nation’s ‘People’s Choice’ parks, along with just nine other parks across the UK. More than 1,700 UK parks and green spaces flying a Green Flag Award were eligible for the People’s Choice award, voted for by the public, and managed by environmental charity, Keep Britain Tidy. It is the fourth time that Victoria Park, maintained by Tower Hamlets Council, has won the award, and the third consecutive win. The largest and most visited park in East London, Victoria Park has over 4,000 trees, two large lakes, a boating pond,…