Monday 18 July 2016

SLM Digest 17-6-16

Save Lea Marshes is an open group of  local people concerned to keep the marshes and green spaces of the Lea Valley open and green for wildlife and local people.  For further information go to
www.saveleamarshes.org.uk


 
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SLM Weekly Digest

Keep Our Marshes Open and Green!

This is the Weekly Digest of Save Lea Marshes.  We are an open group of local people dedicated to keeping the green spaces and marshes of the Lea Valley area for the betterment of wildlife and for the health of people now and in the future.  To find out more about our ongoing campaigns please see our websitewww.saveleamarshes.org.uk

We offer our condolences for the friends and family of MP Jo Cox who was horrifically murdered on Thursday, and can only repeat what her friends are saying she was all about: “Hope not hate”. Let’s hope there are lessons learned.

With SLM our week has been dominated by the decision to go ahead with the building of the twin pad ice rink on Leyton Marsh – albeit with assurances that building will be focused towards the road, be visually and environmentally acceptable and not infringe more of the marsh.  We’ll be reporting back in more detail.

SUDS LAW – the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority or more properly the Trust arm “Vibrant Partnerships” - seem to think that putting an independent car washing business on the Ice Centre site is a funding initiative that will assuage the member boroughs who have to watch their area budgets and limit their contribution to the upkeep and future of the Lee Valley Park.  This is like throwing pennies into a Wishing Well and not in keeping with the guardianship of the area that the LVRPA was set up to do.  The “delightful” blue canopy structure is now in place see below:



DAM IT!  Whilst SLM are trying to fend of ice and soap suds (and worse) on the marshes, across the other side of the world the indigenous people – the Mundururu are fighting off the Brazilian Government’s plan to build a huge energy dam through their Amazon territory.  Sign the Greenpeace petition: www.greenpeace.org.uk

PANNING IT FOR GOOD - PAN UK member Nick Mole last night spoke at an excellent and well attended first public meeting about the campaign to make Hackney one of the 'Pesticide Free' areas across the world. For more info about next steps, keep posted on the 'Pesticide Free Hackney' page.

IN THE PRESS – The Hackney Gazette letters page, p. 8 has a letter protesting about the plans of Hackney Council to build a school for six years on land in Haggerston Park www.hackneygazette.co.uk/letters 

The June issue of the Hackney Citizen (Issue 80) has on p.7 an article on “Lea Valley Ice Centre could put ‘vital green lung at risk”, www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/news  and in the books section on p.16 a review of Historian Travis Elborough’s book “A Walk in the Park:  The Life and Times o a People’s Institution”, published by Jonathan Cape (with a photograph of some well-known local people). www.hackneycitizen.co.uk/   - and well just look at the whole publication on line or grab a copy from a library.

Nationally in The Sunday Times, 12.6.16, p. 14 “Stargazers see red as night sky lightens”, on the “Night Blight” CPRE report on we’re just using too much light in our infrastructure, e.g. Football Stadiums such as Wembley and giant greenhouses being major light polluters.  

The Guardian Tuesday 14.6.16 has two stories on p.13 “Child mental illness is linked to air pollution – more psychiatric disorders where air quality is worse, Swedish research finds even low levels have an effect and “Plea to help hedgehogs as sightings fall”, gardeners can help reverse the decline by avoiding pesticides and slug pellets, providing water and access through their gardens.

IN THE FRACKING CORNER – whilst we hear of one woman’s  situation of being ordered by a court to be the nominated person (or “Judgement Debtor), to pay an eviction fee (after people had actually left) of £55,342.37 after a three week Anti-fracking protest in Flyde, Lancashire, where Cuadrilla plan to drill – see her blog.

Contrast this with the story in The Guardian yesterday, p. 17 Concern raised at firm called Ineos plan to dump fracking water in the sea, which also mentions that Cuadrilla withdrew an application for a permit to frack in Lancashire after the Environment Agency (EA) tightened the rules for disposal after 2m gallons of wastewater had already been discharged into the Manchester ship canal.

EVENTS 

Saturday 18 June – Mabley Green is running its Saturday Gardening Club from 11.00, all welcome and tells us that Eco Active will be running another club on thefirst and third Tuesday of the month between 1.00-3.00 p.m. and that there will be a special meeting  for Mabley Green supporters on Tuesday 21 June at the Star & Jackdaw in Homerton Road E.9. at 8.00 p.m. to discuss future plans and elect some few representatives to the committee.

Monday 20 June, SLM are organising a Midsummer’s Night Walk and a visit to a local pub to remember Katy Andrews.  Katy is still very much with us in spirit and in our thinking.
The Canal’s & River Trust (CaRT) are organising a volunteer day on 27 June to carry out some monitoring work aimed at saving the European Eel in the River Lea. There are posters up – more details in June Hackney Citizen, p10.

And finally.. is this the shape of things to come, going over from Hackney on the Lea Bridge the cycle lane is on the right  then entering Waltham Forest’s Mini Holland, it switches to the left – how are pedestrians supposed to deal with this?
 
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