This is the
Weekly Digest of Save Lea Marshes (SLM), a group of people who live in the Lea Valley area, concerned to keep the marshes and other local green spaces, open and green for wildlife and people.
Just in time for Christmas, the
What I Love About the Marshes calendar is now available via our
website! The A3 calendar (A4 when folded) features all the winning photos from the competition in full colour, costs £4.99 and will be a stunning and useful addition to any home whilst helping to fund our work (all proceeds go to the campaign). You can see a sneak preview
here, get yours quick as they are going like hot cakes!
In the 'Shake'N'Mix' this week:
STOKEY LOCAL FIGHT ON – at this Monday night’s meeting attended by 60 plus people, the vote was overwhelmingly to go on with the campaign and appeal against last week’s court decision, despite the financial cost. Funds are urgently needed to meet court costs – so any donations welcome (and tell your friends). However, the campaign is keen to raise funds by giving local people a good time to so is planning and open to ideas about events. Further details go to
www.stokeylocal.org.ukIN THE MEDIA – If you missed the excellent
Shared Planet programme on Radio 4 this Tuesday morning, please go to the BBC iPlayer – there was an interesting item on beavers – including (veggie/ vegan alert!) they beaver can be discovered in “natural flavourings” used in strawberry flavours and ice cream (gulp!).
Also featured was a very good debate regarding land costing and the environment – the pros and cons of putting a monetary value on our open spaces.
In
The Guardian on Monday 3.11, p.1
Science has spoken: UN call for action on climate – an official report makes clear that carbon emissions, mainly from burning coal, oil and gas, are currently rising to record levels, not falling; action is now critical.
Also in
The Guardian on Monday: “Common birds losing out in Europe’s Conservation attempts; environmental impact fear as numbers fall by 420m.” Tuesday’s
Guardian quotes Environment Secretary Liz Truss saying that “Gardeners should let their grass go rogue to help save the bees..” Hope the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority et al will take some notice instead of mowing the” bee-jeesus” out of the land.
Meanwhile, Monday’s
Evening Standard has an article on a project called Cody Wilds, which wants to put in a natural meadow in the Lower Lea Valley in the Canning Town/Bow area. It awaits the results of funding from a “Grow Wild Competition”. We have asked if the re-wilding will involve any use of herbicides.
LIGHT NOT FANTASTIC – SLM’s Halloween Bat Walk (complete with home-made bat costumes), was enjoyable but not very successful on the bat spotting front. Unlike the butterflies, we felt that they may have got the message that the extraordinary warm weather was not
really summer and had hibernated or it could have been the sheer amount of unnecessary background light that spills over from the Olympic site and other flood lighting that is putting them off. However, we met some other interesting folk marking the traditional way of marking the winter in a Samhain festival on the filter beds...
EVENTSVoluntary Action Waltham Forest is having its AGM on Thursday 27 November from 4-7 p.m. Included will be a workshop organised by the Young Foundation and in attendance will be Stella Creasy MP for Waltham Forest and local councillors. All welcome but please RSVP to
Barbara@voluntaryaction-wf.org.uk if you want to attend.
London’s Friends Groups (LFGN) are meeting on Monday 10 November from 6-8 p.m.at Committee Room 2, City Hall (by cafe), Queen’s Walk. The main topic will be “Buiding strong friends and users groups”. All welcome.
There will be another
Urban Harvest Walk, guided by Joan Yeadon on Saturday 15 November. Meet by the Riverbank Cafe, Spring Hill at 1pm or Coppermill Lane Car Park at 1.15pm: walk around the Coppermill Fields and back around 4.00 to the same place or to another cafe (cafe will be closed by 4.00). Details from Joan on 07908398905. She would love any recommendations on nearby cafes open on Sunday afternoons.
2015 World Wetlands Day is being planned – to see how you could get involved or help support this go to
www.ramsar.orgNext SLM Meeting – following last week’s Quiz (SLM’s team came second losing by four annoying points!), we will be back at the
Princess of Wales on Monday 17 November at 7.30 for our normal meeting. Newcomers and old friends welcome.
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