Local councillors have voted to endorse the plan, the ‘Natural Renaissance’ for Lewisham, which will aim to do the following….
Supporting the installation of more green roofs in Lewisham, which are roofs where vegetation has been planted to boost biodiversity.
Working with landlords and other landowners to help them transform urban areas to provide habitats for local wildlife.
Reconnecting people with rivers and highlighting how safe access to rivers and an improved river corridor can provide a range of health, safety and environmental benefits.
Delivering at least 60 nature conservation volunteer sessions and 30 guided walks per year
Delivering 500 educational events for 8,000 local children every year.
Working with community art groups to enhance urban locations, such as tunnels, with biodiversity inspired art murals.
Providing practical advice to local residents on how they can enhance their private gardens and local areas to boost biodiversity.
The CPRE London photo competition returns for 2021, with cash prizes and tickets to top London attractions on offer to the photographer who best captures this year’s theme of ‘Picture Blue London’.
We are launching our annual photography competition in celebration of London Rivers Week which ran from 23-31 October 2021. CPRE London is delighted to be working with Thames21, the Environment Agency, ZSL London Zoo, the London Aquarium and others to celebrate London’s rivers and waterways.
Capture London’s waterscapes
Judges will be looking for uplifting images that capture the beauty and variety of the London’s waterscapes – whether that be landscape, wildlife, rivers, canals, a piece of history, places that heal or replenish or people enjoying London’s wet outdoor spaces. We challenge you to grab your camera or phone, explore the watery side of the capital and capture London’s countryside at its very best. We want to see it all!
This year we welcome your interpretation of three categories that represent the city’s key environmental challenges and opportunities: climate change, access to nature, and health and wellbeing. All entries should fall within one category and a winner will be chosen from each.
The photographs will be judged by an impressive line-up of key figures in London’s photography and environmental community including Shirley Rodrigues (Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Greater London Authority), Dave Webb (Environment Agency) and Peter Coles (professional photographer and urban ecologist).
All our winners and finalists will be showcased on our website, featured in the next edition of our Green London newsletter and on our social media channels.
Enter the competition
Competition entry is free, and entrants can enter up to three photographs, one in each category – climate change, access to nature, and health and wellbeing.
The winning entries will receive a cash prize of £100, free membership to CPRE London for a year and tickets to the London Aquarium, plus a cuddly toy! One overall winner will also receive a free family ticket to ZSL London Zoo.
London Rivers Week is a partnership campaign run through London Rivers Restoration Group, a sub-group of the Catchment Partnerships in London. It is sponsored by Thames Water.
London Rivers Week is a week-long annual campaign inspiring the public to celebrate London’s rivers and the projects taking place to rewild and renaturalise them and connecting them with their local communities.
The campaign was launched by the London Rivers Restoration Group in 2016 on behalf of the Catchment Partnerships in London (CPiL) to highlight river restorations. Between 2008 and 2017 a total of 23.5km (14.6 miles) of rivers have been restored.
About the London Rivers Restoration Group
The purpose of the London Rivers Restoration Group, a sub-group of CPiL, is to promote and report on the delivery of river restoration and enhancement projects in support of the Catchment-based Approach to delivering Water Framework Directive objectives across London.
Its specific objective is to achieve the following aspirations set out in the London Rivers Action Plan (LRAP):
Improve flood management using more natural processes
Reduce the likely negative impacts of climate change
Reconnect people to the natural environment through urban regeneration
Gain better access for recreation and improved well-being
Enhance habitats for wildlife
The London Rivers Restoration Group includes the Environment Agency, Thames21, the Greater London Authority, the South East Rivers Trust, London Wildlife Trust, ZSL, the Thames Estuary Partnership, CPRE London and Thames Water.
About the Catchment Partnerships in London (CPiL) Group
The purpose of CPiL is to support 12 different Catchment Partnerships within Greater London to share lessons, experiences, best practice and to help achieve a coordinated approach to delivering the objectives of the Water Framework Directive.
CPiL is not a Steering Group for the Catchment Partnerships; instead it supports and facilitates shared action, decision making and communication for the Catchment-based Approach in London.
Catchment Partnerships are groups of organisations working in different geographical locations to improve water quality.
A water fern called Azolla, originally from America has been spreading in the British Isles in recent years and has established itself in the pond at Beckenham Place Park. It is spread by wildfowl and spore dispersal and can quickly take over a pond, swamping the native vegetation and wildlife. It can develop a floating mat 30cm thick, which shades the sunlight from the water and chokes the pond. To control this invasive weed, weevils have been introduced into the pond that eat the Azolla. This should keep it under control and prevent it from taking over the pond. This is a safe natural way to control the weed without using harsh chemicals. To watch the video about the project, click the link below!
Here is the new Rivers and People programme for January to March. Please note, we are currently not able to run sessions due to the lockdown but we hope to be back up and running in March.
For those of you who have spent time with me and other volunteer groups in activities such as The 3 Rivers Clean Up clearing himalayan balsam know what great fun it is. You may wonder, however if it is all worthwhile? Of course we know it is because in Lewisham we have seen a huge reduction in the amount of HB in the years that we have been running the 3 Rivers Clean Up and other similar sessions.
The Tweed Invasives Project has been tackling invasive plant species in and around the River Tweed and its tributaries since 2002, when Giant Hogweed was identified as one of the biggest threats to the River. Since then, they have added Japanese knotweed and Himalayan Balsam to their list of invasives. With all this fantastic experience, they have produced a ‘best practice’ manual, The Tweed Invasives Project: 18 Years of Catchment-wide Control, which gives a detailed guide to delivering a long-term, catchment-scale invasives control programme.
It is a fantastic document highlighting all the different ways in which you can control these species. For those of you that only want to read about Himalayan balsam, you will find this from p24 onwards.
Due to the most recent advice from the UK Government and from Lewisham Council, we have decided to cancel the Rivers and People volunteering sessions and until further notice. I appreciate that you may be disappointed by this news, but in light of the current advice this we feel this is the best course of action. I will of course update you as advice changes.
Please let anyone know that you see who may not see this message
There are a lot of wonderful volunteers out there who help keep our rivers clean, from the Friends of the River Pool to Nature’s Gym to Thames21. Part of the reason our rivers are so lovely, is down to this dedicated bunch of people. This is usually the time of year when we, along with a number of partners, would be great ready for the the 3 Rivers Clean Up. Unfortunately, with the way things are currently, we are not sure if this will be able to go ahead. This is a great shame because not only is it great fun, it is a lovely way to meet people and also get to see parts of the Borough you may not know about and experience from a new angle. Thankfully, local resident and very active volunteer Lawrence is here to help. On his blog Mental Mapping he has created a ‘virtual tour’ of Lewisham’s Rivers.
Waiting to get in
The tour takes in the rivers Ravensbourne, Quaggy and Pool along with their associated tributaries. You will get an idea of the flora and geomorphology along the rivers along with the type of great work the volunteers do.
Catchment Map
If you are keen to get involved in volunteering along the rivers, keep an eye out on the following blogs, where we will post updates information about events you’ll be able to take part in – hopefully in the not too distance future!
