Tower Hamlets’ excellent parks have received recognition in two prestigious awards schemes, the Green Flag Awards and London in Bloom. A record eight parks in the borough were named as the some of the best open spaces in the country in the 2012 Green Flag Awards. St George’s Gardens and Bromley Recreation Ground won Green Flags for the first time, while King Edward Memorial Park regained the Green Flag it last held several years ago. Mile End Park (see photo left) and Trinity Square Gardens (above) retained their awards, along with Weavers Fields, Millwall Park and recently-refurbished Victoria Park. Tower…
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The two Tufted Ducks with red nasal saddles, which visited East India Dock Basin in spring 2011 and returned in the spring of 2012, are back on the Basin again this month. Male “RedU1” (see photo below) reappeared on 6 September, followed by female “Red-1” (above) on 17 September, and both were still present on 19th. Both birds were fitted with their numbered saddles, which allow their movements to be monitored, at Sao Jacinto Dunes Nature Reserve in Portugal. They both visited Normandy before making their first appearance at East India Dock Basin in 2011. Male RedU1 returned to Portugal…
At the request of the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Law Commission is consulting on a review of wildlife protection law. The review aims to simplify the law, which is currently confusing and complicated, with inconsistent provisions over a number of statutes. The current law regulating wildlife is spread over a collection of Acts dating back to 1831. The original purpose of much of the law was to govern activities such as hunting and fishing, including poaching. Over the years it has expanded to conserve certain species, ensure the welfare of wildlife and protect local biodiversity…
The awful weather and its impact on butterflies is the big story from Big Butterfly Count 2012. This year’s wash-out summer saw the numbers of common butterflies and day-flying moths fall, but over 25,000 people across the UK still took part in the survey, counting over 223,000 butterflies and day-flying moths. This year’s results reveal that the numbers of 15 of the 21 species studied fell compared with last year’s figures, raising concerns that the wettest summer in 100 years, combined with a poor spring, has triggered population crashes that could put some already threatened species at risk. So who…
On Friday 10 August, Tower Hamlets biodiversity officer John Archer was astonished to find a male Long-tailed Blue butterfly on his regular lunchtime visit to East India Dock Basin Nature Reserve. It was involved in an aerial battle with a newly-emerged Common Blue, which was clearly trying to establish a territory. This happened several times over about 40 minutes, before the Long-tailed Blue decided it had received enough aggression and flew into the treetops, never to be seen again. This left several very disappointed visitors who arrived from all over London during the afternoon to see the rare visitor. Only…
The Rain Garden Guide was launched in July. The free online guide explains what a rain garden is, why we should create them, and how to do it. In its simplest form, a rain garden is a shallow depression, with absorbent, yet free draining soil and planted with vegetation that can withstand occasional temporary flooding. Rain gardens help our gardens to deal more effectively with heavy rain, but they also filter and clean runoff. They are therefore an important way to help make our cities more sustainable, especially in a changing climate where extreme weather events are likely to become…
London’s Amphibian and Reptile Atlas was launched today (Friday 20th July) by the partners of the CLARE (Connecting London’s Amphibian and Reptile Environments) Project. The atlas is the first publicly accessible, comprehensive map-based view of the distribution of London’s native amphibian and reptile species. It provides information on the preferred habitat of each species found in the capital and exhibits, also for the first time, maps showing suitable habitat within Greater London. It is only once we know where London’s amphibians and reptiles are living that we can then identify thriving or vulnerable areas and the key areas to their…
The Big Butterfly Count is a nationwide survey aimed at helping assess the health of our environment. It was launched in 2010 and an impressive 10,000 people took part, counting 210,000 butterflies and day-flying moths across the nation. Many more people, some 34,000 in fact, joined Big Butterfly Count 2011 (see the 2011 results). This year’s Big Butterfly Count is taking place from Saturday 14th July – Sunday 5th August 2012. The survey is run by the charity Butterfly Conservation. To take part, simply count butterflies for 15 minutes during bright (preferably sunny) weather between 14th July and 5th August.…
The Bee Cause is Friends of the Earths’ campaign to save the bee. Bees are in trouble, in the UK and across the globe. In the UK 2 bumblebee species are extinct. The health of honeybee colonies is deteriorating and wild honeybees are extinct in some areas. The reasons are complicated but various factors may be involved including: the spread of monoculture crops and loss of diversity of flowers available across the seasons; loss of hedgerows which act as corridors to enable bees to move between feeding and nest sites; use of chemicals, including neonicotinoid-based insecticides; pests and diseases; and…
Local wildlife and biodiversity issues were explored at a free conference, ‘Biodiversity: From Balcony to Building Site and Beyond’, organised by Tower Hamlets Council on 27 June 2012. The conference attracted an audience of nearly 100 people, including representatives of many Council departments, social housing providers, consultants, local and London-wide community and environmental groups, and local residents. The event highlighted the role that communities can play in looking after local natural environment and promoting biodiversity. It also marked the half-way point in the delivery of the Local Biodiversity Action Plan, which was adopted by Cabinet in September 2009. In these…