SLM Digest 20-6-16

To: yahoo group <saveleytonmarsh@yahoogroups.co.uk>

 

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   View this email in your browser SLM Weekly Digest Keep Our Marshes Open and Green! Bee orchids at Coppermill Fields, spotted by ranger @etlawlor1 This is the Weekly Digest of Save Lea Marshes.  We are a group of people living in the Lea Valley area who originally came together to protest against the building of the Olympic Basketball Facility on Leyton Marsh and have since expanded the campaign towards the protection and preservation of the marshes and other local green spaces for the benefit of wildlife and local people, now and in the future.  If you would like to know more about our work and on-going campaigns do visit our websitewww.saveleamarshes.org.uk Firstly, last week we organised a special edition to alert people to what they could do to prevent the latest main threat to the Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) on Leyton Marsh.  There is still time to make your position known to the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, which will be making the next stage of decision making concerning the Ice Centre at its committee meeting on Thursday 16 June at 1.30pm.  Please refer to last week’s digest or see our website. Secondly, we would like to welcome the new signers to our weekly digest that we met at the Stoke Newington event earlier this month.  The digest is SLM’s way of keeping people up to date with concerns as well as, positive news about the marshes and our local environ plus any other news and events which we think our readers will be interested in locally, nationally and internationally.  We are always keen to hear from our readers if there is anything they would like to share e.g. if you have spotted a rare plant or animal on the marshes or if you have seen any oil spills on the River Lea. RECENT UPDATES: We have previously reported plans to build a mixed development including three 18 storey tower blocks at 97 Lea Bridge Road.  Sadly, Waltham Forest Planning Committee agreed the plan this week see www.guardian-series.co.uk/news  for further details and for the looming architecture that will shadow the local area. The dreaded Cricket screens have arrived on Hackney Marshes and Oh, dear!  The Council, the Architects of the Cricket Pavilion and the Cricketers did not include in their plans a place to store them. Owzat for a balls-up! Many of you lingering at bus-stops may have spotted the information posters about the referendum featuring Hackney Marshes demonstrating the view.   A clear view of the future of Europe therefore  becomes entwined with the lack of a clear view the Cricket Pavilion will provide ... Two items of interest from the Hackney Planning Sub-Committee on Thursday this week (1) the current plans for a school on the site of the Old Police Station next to St. John’s Church have been turned down and (2) a plan for one temporary and six permanent mooring spaces on a site between Daubney Road and Kingsland Estate on the Lea have been turned down as “they would impact adversely on waterborne sport and leisure and located off the main navigational routes where facilities should normally be put; in order to protect and enhance the existing site and LVRPA land and because of flood risk. Artwork in the Underpass organised with the RARA art group is progressing, go and have a look – just off the Lea Bridge Road near the Water Works Centre. ENOUGH TO MAKE YOU “BRIDLE” – one of our group has been doggedly pursuing the issue of horses on the marshes and what the LVRPA’s policies are.  In a recent reply to correspondence we learn that the Riding School does not charge its livery clients for roaming the bridle ways of the marshes they are treated as normal users.  That sounds fine on the one hand but also involved in this decision appears to be the 5 year relationship between the Authority and the new Trust “Vibrant Partnerships” and that a “cost” isn’t charged because it would generate a “management charge” which would be counter to trying to keep costs to the ratepayers low.  Also it would apparently negate one (which?) of the trust aims.  I hope I have got this right, in any case I think SLM will want to look at this issue more closely. PETITIONS OF THE WEEK -  our friends at Council for the Protection for Rural England – London have a new map of the areas of green belt that could be under threat from mass house-building.  They are inviting people to write to their MPs about the issue via www.theyworkforyou.org.uk  - if you don’t know your own MP or are concerned about another area there is a system that will direct you to the right representative. There is a complete Frack Out going on – first Greenpeace are organising to help the campaign around the first site agreed in Yorkshire https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk   On twitter there are lots of active groups e.g. No Fracking in North Berwick  @noFrackingNB IN THE PRESS – The Evening Standard on Friday 3 June p.30www.eveningstandard.co.uk/news  “Activitists persuade council to kill weeds without chemicals” – this is as a result of campaigners in Hammersmith & Fulham to stop spraying with glyphosate-based herbicides and use chemical-free methods such as foam and steam and how a growing campaign is trying to urge more local councils not to spray toxic chemicals around parks and schools. Plans to build workers’ houses on a farm in the Nazeing green belt have been approved by Epping Forest District Councils, although they will have to be removed if the farm closes. Notice in The Guardian on 7 June – In Memoriam for Katy Andrews.  Katy – always with us.  We plan to have a contemplative walk. www.guardian-series.co.uk/news EVENTS Thursday 16th June is the first public meeting of the Pesticide Free Hackney Campaign at 6.30pm at Hackney City Farm. Nick Mole from PAN UK will be speaking about alternatives to chemicals that councils can use and the international campaign against glyphosate. All welcome! Eamonn the LVPRA ranger has sent us news of Scything on the marshes for beginners sessions on 15th and 28 June from 10.00-1.00 p.m (meet at 9.45 at the Waterworks E10 7QB.  Also, the annual Community Haystacks event takes place on the weekend of the 30-31 June.  For further details Tweet  @etlawlor1  or the LVRPA website  (We like to encourage more natural methods of grass management than machines). www.visit-lee-valley.org.uk/events Stephen Vince an artist who made some artistic contributions to the Save Leyton Marsh Campaign has a new exhibition in Norwich which will later transfer to London see www.stephenVince.net The Tree Musketeers will be out watering new trees on South Millfields 6-8 p.m. see the Sustainable Hackney website for details http://sustainablehakney.org.uk/events Friends of Mabley Green continue their free weekly gardening session – bring family, friends and picknics – entrance on Lee Conservancy Road on Saturdays from 11.00 a.m..  All welcome. Rasheeq or Hedge Herbs has sent us the latest news on lots of interesting courses and events for June for further details email Rasheeq@hedgeherbs.org.uk or telephone her on 07784 506 404 Clapton Jumble Trail this Sunday 12 June – come and visit “Maison Hattie’s Bits & Bobs” at 138 Millfields Road E5 0AD – as well as selling books, toys etc, we’ll be raising funds for Save Lea Marshes. NEXT SLM MEETING ON MONDAY 13TH JUNE AT 7.30 AT THE PRINCESS OF WALES PUB, LEA BRIDGE ROAD.  All welcome – we will be discussing the Ice Centre amongst other issues. Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2016 Save Lea Marshes, All rights reserved. You signed up for this email by contacting us directly or ticking a sign up sheet on a petition. Our mailing address is: Save Lea Marshes c/o The Hornbeam Centre 458 Hoe St Walthamstow, London E17 9AH United Kingdom

SLM Digest 20-5-16

To: yahoo group <saveleytonmarsh@yahoogroups.co.uk>

 

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   View this email in your browser SLM Weekly Digest Keep Our Marshes Open and Green! Image of the week: The River Lea in Spring glory shared by @NicholasNakon With bird numbers and species declining it is always a welcome sight and sound to realise that the swifts are back in Hackney.  I am watching their aerial ballet as I write this week’s digest.  This week’s hot topic continues to be a cold one – the Ice Centre. RED LINE DISTRICT -  SLM and representatives from local residents met this week to discuss the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority’s “Lee Valley Ice Centre Feasibility Exercise Stage 2 Report”, prepared for the Ice Centre Users and Local Community Information Sessions April 2016.  (If you would like a copy, please request one from the LVRPA from s.dawson@vibrantpartnerships.co.uk). Our discussion centred on the role SLM will play and the different positions that could be taken by others in favouring any of the other three sites proposed if Leyton Marsh is ruled out.  SLM’s position is that we oppose all building on Metropolitan Open Land and if any such land is taken, then we would want to see another bit of land freed up.  We continue to be dismayed by the lack of real consultation and by the quality of the arguments of the report.  The statistics pointing to the favoured choice of Leyton Marsh are not convincing economically, in terms of strategic transport accessibility or parking provision.  Furthermore, there are strong reasons not to put a larger Ice Centre on the marsh, which include ground pollution, noise pollution; loss of view and amenity to the open space and creating even more traffic clogging on Hackney’s borders.  The “red lines” around the map diagrams of the report appear to suggest the Leyton Marsh site could be expanded across most of the marsh, only the SINC by the river constituting a 'red line' for development. Our red line is somewhat different! SLM and other local residents will be attending the LVRPA’s meeting on 16 June, to bring these points to the attention of the committee when the report is presented.  The meeting is open to the public. CANAL TWEETS – we know that a number of our readers our housed on boats through choice or economic necessity and we know it is getting increasingly harder to find a stretch of the river to call home – so having been sent some tweets about organisations that can help, we thought we would pass them on:  @NbtaLondon (National Barge Travellers Association)  @Canal&RiverMisTrust and of course the Canal and River Trust’s own account @CRTContactUs. LEA BRIDGE STATION RE-OPENING – it has finally happened.  The station closed in 1985 due to low passenger numbers is now running every 30 minutes between Stratford and Tottenham Hale – two key transport hubs.  There was an official launch on Monday and there will also be an ongoing art project in the summer to mark the occasion.  The good news is that this will help local people get about but perhaps the downside is that it will open up more Klondyke style development bids.. IN THE PRESS - The Hackney Gazette has a story on p. 3 on “A knitting tribute to fabric of Stokey” – a fully knitted replica of Stokey Common by a local group called Common Thread, which will be on show in Stoke Newington Library and at the Chelsea Fringe Festival; on p.9 “Fly-posters told to leaf it out”, pinning posters on trees in London Field Trees (this is also happening in Millfields Park – don’t do it, it damages the trees!) and Letter of the Week on p.8 “London Fields mess cause for concern” based on the story from last week on misuse and refuse issues. www.hackneygazette.co.uk  Over in Waltham Forest, The Waltham Forest Guardian has 'Waltham Forest’s Deputy Leader has called for an inquiry to reject Compulsory Purchase Orders' (CPOS), that would pave the way for the City Airport to acquire 12k kilometres of land for airport expansion. “The borough is the third most overflown in London after Hounslow and Richmond”, he said.  Meanwhile, 500 Supporters of “Mini Holland”, met last Sunday after forming a Facebook group to back the project  www.guardian-series.co.uk/news  In their latest mailing Waltham Forest Friends of the Earth, also back the scheme and ask people to show their support (I’m sure most of us would support the increased cycling/pedestrianisation versus more car pollution but the Lea Bridge Road is now a sad testament to a big cull of wild space which somewhat defeats the object!). National Stories – a feature by Stephen Moss in last Sunday’s Observer “The messy limbo that is neither town nor country”, pp.10-11, on a new book about the brownfield in-between spaces which often have a richer range of wildlife, part of a new book by Stephen Moss 'Wild Kingdom:Bring Back Britain’s Wildlife' www.observer.co.uk/nature   and on p.12 News section “Fresh Doubts over Thames Garden bridge as Sadiq Khan probes into £175m project“ (since then it looks like the current administration want to go ahead with less public money and more public use).  The Sunday Times, p.7 had a story on the plight of the beached Whales “Toxins in sea linked to the stranding of Whales” – it is the fault of pollutants an PCBs from such things as electric equipment. A letter concerning the amount of pollution that faces local Hackney (and other borough schools) and the fact that a road bridge by Eton School was closed years ago for pollution reasons featured in the press this week. My favourite wildlife story of the week has to be The Evening Standard, Monday 16 May, p.23 “Fantastic Mr Fox is a London Commuter”.  Following the epic climb of a fox up the Shard a few years ago, our resourceful foxes are now riding escalators and catching tube trains... EVENTS At Dalston Curve Garden this weekend - Floriography: The Bureau of the Unsaid, Saturday 21 & Sunday 22 May 2016, 1 - 5pm. The Garden will be visited by ‘Floriography: The Bureau of the Unsaid’, with artist Emily Tracy this weekend, to launch four weeks of ‘Dalston Flower Show’ events and activities at the Garden for Chelsea Fringe 2016. And it's a way ahead but you can book your place on a Free Bee Talk with Russell Miller - Thursday 16th June at 6pm at The House, Clissold Park. Register here Next SLM meeting – we’re ignoring the fact that it is another Bank Holiday and having a meeting at 7.30 p.m. in the Princess of Wales pub, Lea Bridge Road on Monday 30 May.  Newcomers welcome.          Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2016 Save Lea Marshes, All rights reserved. You signed up for this email by contacting us directly or ticking a sign up sheet on a petition. Our mailing address is: Save Lea Marshes c/o The Hornbeam Centre 458 Hoe St Walthamstow, London E17 9AH United Kingdom

SLM Digest 11-5-16

To: yahoo group <saveleytonmarsh@yahoogroups.co.uk>

 

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   View this email in your browser SLM Weekly Digest Keep Our Marshes Open and Green! Image of the week tweeted from Walthamstow Marshes on a beautiful day by @therecorddeckuk Firstly an apology, your ever so trusty CC asked me to do the digest last week and what with one thing and another, the time in front of my computer to compose it never appeared, partly due to looking for an abode in a more affordable part of the Lee Valley - so now instead you have a bumper digest this week!  Leyton Marsh: a blooming lovely future? Ice Rink Sessions about the future of the ice centre on Lea Bridge Road took place the week before last. The Saturday session was attended by mainly residents and SLM members.  Hackney residents were objecting to it being on Leyton Marsh and others were putting forward the views of those from Markhouse ward who wanted it on the Waterworks site.  SLM members asked a series of questions.  The lack of notification of the meetings was raised and confirmed by almost everyone there – none of the Hackney or Waltham Forest residents had had anything put through their letterboxes nor seen any signs.  We have since heard that at least some of Riverside Close was leafleted. Chief Exec Shaun Dawson was asked what the process was and he pointed to a guy at the back who was in charge (not sure if his company was hired, or if he works for the LVRPA).  The guy said they’d put flyers through letterboxes within some small area from Leyton Marsh (residents from the flats said they hadn’t got any and couldn’t live closer) but didn’t cover areas around the other locations.  He also claimed he’s put them up all around the marshes.  When an SLM member said there weren’t any  but had put some up only to see they were taken down, he said maybe the same people who took ours down took his down.  Shaun Dawson insisted that the sessions were not “consultation”.  There seemed to be a large number of people in the room who weren't impressed with the information presented as the conclusions were not properly explained. There is some better news in that nature has helped out in beginning to recreate the habitat that the LVRPA and ODA failed to reinstate on the site of the 'temporary' basketball site - in a rare rain-free interlude today I spotted dandelions, daisies, plantain and other species not really seen since the 'sports turf' specialists rolled out their version of golf course on top of Leyton Marsh. The new(ish) ranger Eamonn also sent us an update about Leyton Marsh plans (note no reference was made of the former basketball site and a conspicuous absence of reference to glyphosate)  but there appear to be some good plans - we have lobbied for a long time to see an increase in less frequently mown areas of the marsh so are pleased to see this happening: "During 2013, an extended Phase I and NVC habitat survey was carried out by London Wildlife Trust for the site on behalf. The report provided an assessment of the habitat quality and provided some recommendations for us to incorporate into our management plan for the site. Grassland Management:  The short turf amenity grassland area was reduced in size and these areas are now included in our grassland meadow management programme. This area was scarified in 2013 & ’14 to remove thatch and improve the ground for seeding with native wildflower species. Sections of existing meadow grassland have been cut on alternate years during in September. Woodland Management: Essex Wharf holds some of our last mature woodland. Most of this is located on the island which is owned by Canal & River Trust. Lee Valley Park own and manage the mainland section. There are plans being developed to addressing this section and we hope to involve Thames 21 who have been advising us of options. This, we hope, will begin next season. Scrub Management Most of the woodland surrounding Leyton Marsh is in the form of scrub. Rather than promote mature woodland which would be limited in size and extent we are instead opting for mixed scrub. This will provide for a more diverse range of birds and other species. The scrub areas received some thinning this winter with the aim of encouraging greater ground flora diversity. This thinning will continue next winter along the eastern edge which has become very densely grown and shaded over. Tree planting:  This winter, we planted 120 whips of native origin around different areas of Leyton marsh with the aim of increasing lower story/shrub cover; something we lack at present. This I hope to continue over the next few seasons. Poplar Management: Our row of Native Black Poplar along the northern edge of Leyton Marsh is ageing and more prone to damage and symptoms of old age. Last winter, we planted in more N.Black Poplar between some of the trees to provide for the next generation. Invasive Species: Several areas of invasive giant bramble were cleared at sections of the marsh to reduce its extent and to provide opportunities for other native plants to grow instead. These areas were replaced with the aforementioned native trees that were planted. These areas will receive management over the next few seasons to help the trees grow successfully. Japanese Knotweed and G. Hogweed have both been identified at several locations and are monitored closely. They are subject to our annual invasive species management programme. Birds: We recently purchased several bird boxes this March and I hope to install them across the marshes for next season. Bats: We recently purchased a number of bat boxes which we also intend to use across the marshes. I will be inviting an advisor from London Bat Group to help us install for next season. Site Management Workshops: Over the past several years, we have run Site Management Workshops. This takes in Leyton and Walthamstow Marshes providing an insight into the various management practices, what’s current and project updates for the sites. This is open to everyone and anyone and are held a 2 or 3 times a year. The last was April 30th and is advertised through our website and through our information boards. Community Engagement: With everything we do on Leyton Marsh, we try to involve the local community. Nearly all of the work which was completed this past year was with the assistance of Lee Valley Volunteers, Lea Bridge Road Conservation Volunteers, The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and our staff rangers." Spring Migration: A tale from the wetlands Check out this video by the London Wildlife Trust shared by Wetlands Steve this week - it features ornithologist Peter Beckenham talking about species spotted on Walthamstow Wetlands, including a common buzzard! As he says, Walthamstow is a hotspot for birds, due of course to the wonderful green spaces in this area: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YohGeV0NAGI&feature=youtu.be A Familiar Tale History of Stokey this week shared a fascinating commentary piece highlighting the fact that in the North of Hackney, areas previously green have been swallowed up and the only green lung that remains is Clissold Park. The date? 1886. The trend for building on green has sadly lasted although the voices speaking out for nature and green space have not died out... Tip-toeing through the marshes! The image above shows the maps collated by Tales from the Marsh project at The Mill. To find out more about the workshops on offer for girls and women exploring Walthamstow Marshes through drama, movement, storytelling and art, visit: https://twitter.com/TalesMarsh Trashing Green Space Over in gentrified London Fields, people enjoyed the sunny spell like the rest of us but left their rubbish everywhere. Images of the sight facing Council workers was shared by Greener Hackney and taken up nationally by Greenpeace as reminder to respect our green spaces and not trash them: https://twitter.com/greenerhackney More Skyscrapers to Scrape Walthamstow Skies The Waltham Forest Echo this week reported on the approval to build hundreds of homes on an old industrial site in the St James area of Walthamstow. Across the two sites there will be 656 homes however only 122 homes, less than 19 percent of the total planned, will be designated ‘affordable’. The borough’s own affordable homes target is 50 percent. Read more on the scheme here: http://walthamforestecho.co.uk/hundreds-of-homes-approved-for-industrial-site/ Wetlands For All? The May Day bank holiday saw the opening of Woodberry Wetlands. The site has not been open to the public for 200 years and the excitement was elevated by the guest appearance of David Attenborough who turned 90 this week and stressed the importance of assisting wildlife and improving everyone's access to nature. East London Lines and many other outlets covered the story of how the former Stoke Newington East Reservoir has been transformed from a site of heavily contaminated water to the vibrant lake and reed beds on display to the public today. However others were keen to point out that access to nature has become a class issue, since the very same Woodberry area was the site of the heavily criticised 'social cleansing' project which saw hundreds of former residents decanted elsewhere against their will. This excellent analysis appeared in The Guardian newspaper: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/may/18/-sp-truth-about-gentrification-how-woodberry-down-became-woodberry-park Will the new Mayor make space for us? Growers in Waltham Forest are demanding that the new mayor make space for community food growing projects in the capital. Waltham Forest is one of the 'leading lights' for community food growing in London Read more here Events Lea Bridge Station Opening Party - On 16th May at 6pm the Hare & Hounds pub will be hosting a party celebrating the opening of Lea Bridge Station after many many years! Our late friend and fellow campaigner Katy Andrews campaigned for many years for the reopening and we wish she were here to see it happen. However, you can be, join the Facebook event here Tree Musketeers Sessions: Thurs 5th May - watering new trees - Well Street Common - 6pm - 7.30pm    Sun 15th May - watering new trees - Hackney Downs - 6pm - 8pm Sun 22nd May - watering new trees - South Millfields - 10.30am - 1pm Mon 23rd May - watering new trees - Clissold Park - 6pm - 8pm Sat 28th May - Tree Nursery Saturday - Hackney Community Tree Nursery - 10am - 2pm Mon 6th June - watering new trees - Downs or WSC (venue to be confirmed) - 6pm - 8pm Sun 12th June - watering new trees - South Millfields - 6pm - 8pm See the Sustainable Hackney events page for more details. Our next meeting - postponed from this week, will be next Monday 16th May at 7.30pm at the Princess of Wales pub. All welcome.   Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2016 Save Lea Marshes, All rights reserved. You signed up for this email by contacting us directly or ticking a sign up sheet on a petition. Our mailing address is: Save Lea Marshes c/o The Hornbeam Centre 458 Hoe St Walthamstow, London E17 9AH United Kingdom Add us to your address book

SLM Digest 28-4-16

To: yahoo group <saveleytonmarsh@yahoogroups.co.uk>

 

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   View this email in your browser SLM Weekly Digest Keep Our Marshes Open and Green! Found on Walthamstow Marshes this week by @Exposure17 (Nathaniel Legall) - here's a glimpse of a pygmy shrew! Nathaniel found a range of different mouse and vole species This is the Weekly Digest of Save Lea Marshes.  We are an open group of people living in the Lea Valley area working towards preserving and improving the condition of the local marshes and green spaces for wildlife and people now and in the future.  Find out more about our work via our website www.saveleamarshes.org.uk Living conditions – the air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we use to grow food – basic conditions for human and other life, without it, we and the planet would die.  So why does the environment come second or lower in the scale of making planning decisions, and money issues get first slot human thinking.  Why does it so often come down to confrontation, when a bit of common sense could make things work better?  I’m raising this because of the issues confronting us locally this week: ICY-BLASTS – last night one of the consultation meetings organised by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA), over the placement of a new twin-pad ice rink, took place.  Some SLM members attended and have reported back on the situation so far.  It looks like, the preferred option is, as we feared, Leyton Marsh.  This would involve construction work further out towards the roadside frontage but may also involve building a temporary rink (maybe in a tent), onto the main area of Leyton Marsh, which is deeply concerning from a wild life point of view on Metropolitan Open Land, and for local residents, who have already experienced noise issues from the current building plus ongoing building work and other usual noise disturbance.  We are not kill-joys and recognise that the rink is a popular local resource, but the rink doesn’t have to be built on the marsh and from what we have seen of the figures and information provided, the arguments are less than convincing.  Rink users too, will  have to think about whether building on the current site will meet their needs.  Is it best for transport?  What happens during the estimated 18 month construction period.  Surely, it would make sense to keep the old ice rink in operation while a new one is built rather than have inadequate provision which may affect competition training.  We will report back in more depth about this, however we would strongly urge you to come to either of the meetings this Saturday 30 April, either at 11.00am at the Ice Rink or from 1.00pm to 3.30pm at the Waterworks Centre, both in the Lea Bridge Road.  The Waterworks Centre, is also one of the sites for the rink that has been under consideration. ADVICE & VOLUNTEERS – we hear that the Tree Musketeers and Hackney Marshes Users Group have been invited to a meeting to discuss tree/shrub planting and on-going tree maintenance for the area that will supposedly screen the proposed Cricket Pavilion on Hackney Marshes.  As independent organisations they will obviously make up their own minds on whether to do this.  On the one hand, we would want to opt for the best planting and care possible, but on the other, both groups along with SLM fought hard to have the pavilion built on the site of the existing changing rooms and not plonked right in the middle of the marsh, causing more disruption to some of the 1,000 tons of war rubble that lies beneath... OXBOW ISLAND – SLM are continuing to monitor the situation re. Oxbow Island, which is controlled by the Canals and Rivers Trust (CaRT).  Last week we reported Glyphosate spraying near the Island but we are also concerned about the nature area surviving occasional moorings by party goers and indeed the possibility of CaRT putting in permanent moorings to earn income. FRACK PACK – Emma and Sophie Thompson of acting fame are currently acting up noisily, with egg whisks and wooden spoons, making lots of noise in a field in Lancashire that is due to be fracked.  You can view their humous antics with a serious purpose and spread the word via https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/frackfreebakeoff PEDAL POWER – although we don’t want to advocate more of the mistakes we have seen with the Mini Holland Scheme, improved cycling routes are of concern and the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) have a petition to see cycling kept on the GLA’s agenda, sign the petition by visiting www.lcc.org.uk IN THE PRESS – nationally and locally glyphosate use is in the news.  First we have received a tweet from @PAN_UK  that pesticide industry is trying to make it look like they support bees rather than kill them with their poisons.  Then we have the Hackney Gazette 28 April, p.2 “Council unswayed by call to ban weedkiller; Chief insists spraying London Fields meadow is safe” http://www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news/environment/hackney_council_unswayed_by_fresh_calls_to_ban_glyphosate_weedkiller_1_4511362 Then comes news from Bristol that the Council there is experimenting with keeping certain areas of the city free of pesticides and are trying out the use of vinegar as a weedkiller. http://m.westerndailypress.co.uk/Bristol-smells-vinegar-council-tries-to-kill-weeds/story-29167088-detail/story.html The same publication also has a story on dogs being burned by Giant Hogweed http://m.westerndailypress.co.uk/warning-sent-dog-suffers-horror-burns-hogweed/story-29158482-detail/story.html Hackney Today, 25 April, p.p.1 4-5 features “Wonderful  wetlands”, about the new Woodberry Wetlands.  This has also been covered in the Evening Standard this week and elsewhere. (Great about the Wetlands, shame about the social cleansing and property speculation involved). Also, Evening Standard Wednesday 27 April, pp.8-9 Homes & Property www.eveningstandard.co.uk/homes&property The Waltham Forest Guardian has a story about an old cinema in Buxton Street, Walthamstow that seems destined to become a five story block of flats “Conservation Society ‘disappointed with art-deco cinema’ www.guardian-series.co.uk/news “Toxic air kills 1,000 in 4 months; call for diesel ban”, is the headline of the Evening Standard, Thursday 28 April, p.p.1&4. http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/1000-londoners-killed-in-four-months-by-the-capitals-toxic-air-a3235841.html “Kapoor: slide was foisted on my tower by Mayor”, story on the slide of funds,  (the Mittal Orbit tower loses £10k per week) and they think the addition of a slide costing £17 per trip will solve the problem. The Guardian, 27 April, p.12 www.guardian.co.uk “No fungi: the crackdown on foraging as Epping Forest forager gets a criminal record and a bill of £364”.  The Guardian, G.2, p.2 www.guardian.co.uk  Also, more silliness on slides ... EVENTS Baby Tree Care at Hackney Tree Nursery on Sat 30th April. See website for details: http://sustainablehackney.org.uk/events/event/listUpcoming Next SLM meeting, Monday 9 May at the Princess of Wales pub, Lea Bridge Road, E5.

SLM Digest 14-4-6

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 View this email in your browser SLM Weekly Digest Keep Our Marshes Open and Green! Last weekend on a short walk, spotted the first cricket game of the season and new markings on Hackney Marshes; sighed with dismay at the onslaught of the Mini Holland Scheme along the Lea Bridge Road and collected two bags of litter on the way – mostly cans and bottles of alcohol and energy drinks, so stuffed with sugar that people haven’t the energy to dispose properly of their own cans once they’ve drunk them... RIDING, RIDING – there’s a new sign by the Riding Stables, indicating there are two areas that can be used by horse-riders at specific times of the year.  However, the map has gone.  Our chief SLM correspondent on this matter is continuing his quest to make some sense of the policy; if people know what that is and who’s responsible... POISON FREE-SELFIES – be part of the protest.  Photograph yourself with a placard stating that you want Hackney to be “Pesticide Free” and post it to the group ‘Pesticide Free Hackney’ on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/PesticideFreeHackney  or Tweet it to @PAN_UK TWITTERNS & BYWAYS – the initial meeting of volunteers to map and record the Rights of Way in Waltham Forest that we mentioned in last week’s Digest, took place yesterday.  A grid system has been drawn up and we are looking for more volunteers to take “a grid or more”.  Volunteers will be given their bit of the map and be asked to walk and chart their appointed alleyway or path, as well as photograph it if possible.  The aim is to register the paths before a new act to be introduced in 2026 to safeguard them against building and keep them open for public use.  We also plan to document, maybe produce a data base and get on the Council’s case to do the job they should have done in 1965!  To volunteer to be a “TAB-BY” (as in T & B – we also met in a cat-centred pub), contactabigail.woodman@btinternet.com  who will allocate you a square to walk.  IN THE PRESS Locally:  The Waltham Forest Guardian has news of two controversial developments approved by Tuesday 12 April Planning Committee:  183 homes and 3 rental units to be built on the former Essex Brewery site in St. James’ Street – some planning committee members voiced concern over only 14 per cent affordable housing and also a school extension to a school in Chingford. www.guardian-series.co.uk/news Over in Hackney: The Hackney Gazette has a report on p.2 on “GLA advisers urge Boris to refuse skyscrapers at Bishopsgate” – threat to neighbourhood in terms of “light blight” and change to the nature of the area.  There will be a demonstration outside City Hall at lunchtime on Monday to try to stop Boris taking one last brutal act.... “Report into ‘ quietway’ in London Fields is published” p.7 and on p.9 “Neighbours ’anger over site problems” – squatters, fly-tipping and noise blighting lives around the old Magnet premises in Leagrave Street, Clapton (near Millfields Park).  Plans for a four storey block on the site were being discussed at Hackney Planning Department last night. www.hackneygazette.co.uk/news “Nationally:  The Guardian has a number of interesting stories in Thursday 14 April – this is just a few:  “Olympians join fight to halt levy by council on park run”.  It is about a Bristol Parish Council trying to charge a regular group of “Parkrun” for wear and tear of its regular weekly mass runs. P.5 ;  “Wide support for ban on microbeads to save marine life” – a Greenpeace poll reveals that women don’t want marine-threatening pollution in their personal care products, p7; shorts on “Lump of whale vomit could sell for £50k” (the finders want to use money to buy a static caravan!) and “Moth experts seek to put females off the scent” to trick them away from clothes, p.10  and “British fracking loophole could lead to repeat of U.S. mistakes” p.13.  On the same page, my favourite laugh out loud piece, which is even funnier than the whale vomit “When Nessie met Sherlock: strange case of lost and sunken film prop” – divers thought they’d found Nessie but it was a 1969 film prop! www.guardian.co.uk/national EVENTS – next General Meeting for all London Friends Groups and Borough Friends Forums is on Monday 18 April from 6.00-8.00 p.m. at the downstairs committee room adjacent to Cafe in City Hall, 110 The Queen’s Walk, SE1 2AA. BIG DIG DAY – includes planting on Mabley Green from 11.00 on Saturday 16th, loads of fruit trees to go in.. meet by the Lea Conservancy Road entrance; Dalston Eastern Curve Garden; Cordwainers Garden, Mare Street and the Castle Climbing Centre off Green Lanes, Stoke Newington, also have events supported by the organisation Capital Growth.www.capitalgrowth.org.uk People’s Food Fair – also on Saturday 16 April,drop-in from 11.3.00 p.m., for planting, eating, learning and laughing.  Full programme on the webpagewww.hornbeam.org.uk/2016/04/peoples-food-fair-16-April2016 Sustainable Hackney have their latest newsletter out detailing lots of local and London-wide events – these include:  the People’s Assembly National Demonstration for Health, Homes, Jobs and Education on Saturday April 16 at 1.00-4.00 p.m. meet at Euston & Melton Street, NW1 and on May 8 from 12.00-4.00 p.m. “Going Backwards” a backwards walk to demonstrate against the Government’s backward steps on Climate Change.  Much other interesting stuff too, so check www.sustainablehackney.org.uk Next SLM MEETING – MONDAY 18 APRIL AT 7.30 P.M. at the Princess of Wales pub.  Newcomers and returners always welcome. Share Tweet Forward Copyright © 2016 Save Lea Marshes, All rights reserved. You signed up for this email by contacting us directly or ticking a sign up sheet on a petition. Our mailing address is: Save Lea Marshes c/o The Hornbeam Centre 458 Hoe St Walthamstow, London E17 9AH United Kingdom Add us to your address book