May 2020

Growing your own fruit and vegetables is good for the environment and, during these times of isolation, it’s good for the soul as well, says Jennifer Hawkes of Wanstead Climate Action

Grow Your Own, Dig for Victory! These ideas have been around for a long time and have played their part in our shared history. But, as I’m sitting here in self-isolation with the sun streaming through my windows, I’m struck by how much the idea of sowing seeds and growing food at home has to offer us at this point in history when we are facing a climate crisis, a deluge of plastic waste, a global pandemic and extreme isolation.

The simple act of sowing seeds and growing food has its part to play in supporting individuals, communities and society to grow hope in the midst of these crises.

As we face growing levels of carbon emissions, growing your own can reduce the carbon footprint of your fruit plate to almost zero. According to Mike Berners-Lee, in his book How Bad are Bananas, a garden-grown apple has a carbon footprint of zero, compared to 10g of greenhouse gasses caused by one locally grown apple and 150g per apple for those New Zealand apples sold in our local supermarkets. British grown strawberries have less than a tenth of the greenhouse gas emissions of their imported counterparts, and garden-grown strawberries again have none.

Even growing a small amount of your own fruit and veg can reduce your family’s carbon footprint significantly.

Pre-washed and packaged salad bags are a convenience food that has taken over vegetable shelves. Each bag is linked to 3g of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the pollution of our soils and oceans. There is no good way to dispose of plastic bags but we can use less of them! Growing your own lettuce leaves, rocket, herbs and salad is an easy first step into the world of growing your own. And, with each harvest you enjoy, you reduce your plastic footprint.

Growing fruit and vegetables is also good for the soul. In this time of isolation, growing plants provides a routine of tending, watering, harvesting and preparing. It gives individuals and families an opportunity to get outside and enjoy sunshine, exercise and activity. A glut of produce can be shared with neighbours and friends. Conversations can be had at safe distances over allotment boundaries or garden walls.

If you’re tempted to try growing your own for the first time, some easy starter vegetables are salad leaves, cherry tomatoes, courgettes or runner beans. All of these can be grown in containers on a sunny balcony or in a cleared part of a garden.

Give it a go and enjoy the benefits to you, your family and our larger world.

The emergency action taken to combat coronavirus needs to be applied to other areas, like climate change and biodiversity destruction, says Councillor Paul Donovan (Wanstead Village, Labour)

The coronavirus outbreak has turned life upside down across the world. It has brought unprecedented restrictions on normal life, forcing people to stay at home, distance and isolate.

The present state we find ourselves in also shows people exactly what an emergency looks like. The whole workings of society have been mobilised to counter the threat of the virus. No business as usual, no waiting till the money is available to act – actions have been taken immediately; a matter of life and death.

Many people have said life will never be the same once the virus has passed. This may be true; it should be true. There is, of course, the danger that things will return to business as usual, with this period being viewed as an aberration, unlikely to occur again for some time. It could also mean a doubling up of destructive processes to make up for the time lost during the crisis. This would be a very stupid position to adopt. Lessons need to be learned; life cannot go on as before.

One of the positive developments coming out of the measures taken to counter the virus has been the drop in pollution and emissions – largely due to much of the environmentally damaging activity undertaken on a daily basis having stopped. The suggestion that in China far more people have not died due to cuts in pollution caused by the slowdown in economic activity than have due to the virus is somewhat revealing.

Fish have returned to the waterways of Venice for the first time in decades. There are many other benefits that have come for the environment because the economic juggernaut has slowed, allowing the earth to breathe.

Moving forward to the time after the virus, the same urgency applied to this emergency needs transferring to other threats facing humanity, like climate change, pollution and biodiversity destruction. The positives for addressing these issues for having several months of business not as usual need to be learned and built upon. The economic model must change and change quickly to one that promotes sustainable living and outlaws environmentally destructive practices.

Government at all levels has seen an emergency and just what can be done to address it. Time to transfer the means and approach to environmental matters, not put them on the back burner to a day when things can be afforded.

People will have learned much about themselves and ways of living over this period. Things will change, hopefully for the better. They certainly need to alter for the common good. If the coronavirus has taught nothing else, it must be the importance of living in harmony with nature and coming together to confront adversity at times of trouble.

Nine-year-old Wanstead resident Riku Fryderyk Borowczyk – who is a member of the South Woodford Young Writers Club – has signed a book deal with Pegasus to publish his story The Witching Hour.

“In this story, I want to help children who are afraid of the dark by making them think differently about what might be there that they cannot see,” explained Riku.

“We’re looking forward to the launch of the book in the next few months and seeing The Witching Hour on the shelves of our local bookstores,” said his mum.

Wanstead artist Brenda Coyle invites residents of all ages to take part in her online art classes during lockdown.

“I can’t keep still, so I decided to start running ‘relaxation through art’ classes for free online. I asked my students to pass on my email to friends and family so that they could join in, doing a bit of meditative art while self-isolating,” said Brenda, who had to suspend her classes at Wanstead House. Brenda’s tutorials cover a range of techniques, including crafts for children.

Email mbbcraft@gmail.com or click here.

Local resident Giles Wilson – who runs the Wansteadium blog and organises the annual Wanstead Fringe – has launched the Wanstead Social Distance Club, offering a series of online talks.

“The inaugural meeting took place last month when author John Rogers spoke about some of the fascinating things he’s learned while walking around our bit of east London,” said Giles. Local crime writer Anya Lipska has also taken part in the club, which broadcasts its presentations using video conferencing app Zoom.

Visit wnstd.com/wsdc

Haven House Children’s Hospice has called off many of its fundraising activities for the foreseeable future. Chief Executive Mike Palfreman warns this could have a devastating impact and appeals for support

Nationwide, strict restrictions are now in place to stop the spread of coronavirus. Public gatherings, events and ceremonies have been cancelled and shops and businesses have closed their doors.

Our hospice has now launched an Emergency Fund to help us keep supporting local children and their families who need specialist care.

These are challenging times where no one is immune from the effects of coronavirus. Haven House now faces the possibility that hundreds of seriously ill children and families who depend on the care given by our front-line nurses will stop – threatening our very existence. Every day, children and families need our help, but now more so than ever.

Families tell us we are their lifeline and we cannot let them face this alone. The impact that coronavirus will have on our vulnerable children and families could be devastating. Haven House faces a serious crisis and we need the help of our community.

We welcome the government’s announcement to pledge up to £200m to the UK’s hospice sector.

Haven House is on the front line in providing care for some of the most vulnerable children in our local community. I would like to thank the Chancellor for recognising the vital role we play in supporting the NHS in its fight against COVID-19. Whilst we await details of precisely what this funding will mean to Haven House, we can say that these emergency funds will be essential to keep us going in the short term and enable us to continue providing a lifeline and specialist care to our children and families.

We are determined to play our part and support the NHS at this critical moment, and are doing so through offering both beds and expertise, working closely every day with our NHS colleagues to ensure children at end-of-life and in non-emergency situations but without COVID-19 can be swiftly transferred out of hospital to free up those beds.

The funding is very welcome but does not mean we can become complacent in our appeal for funds. We are projecting a loss in income of around £500,000 in the next three months and the situation beyond then is hugely uncertain for everyone. We are keen to highlight our continued need for support from the community, from whom around 80% of our income traditionally comes through fundraising and our shops.

I would like to thank our supporters who have responded to our call for help over the past weeks. Thank you for holding us in your hearts. This support is so essential and we will continue to need it now and into the future.

Riku Fryderyk Borowczyk is a member of the South Woodford Young Writers Club and has recently signed a publishing contract with Pegasus. Here, the nine-year-old offers his poetic thoughts on lockdown

At the time of writing, it’s been three weeks since my last day of school. The way I see this situation is that it has highlighted a once-in-a-lifetime event, a never-ending holiday. So, you may think, what to do during this holiday when you cannot go out much?

This is a big question mark. While in lockdown, I have had time to work on my book publication, been able to practice skills and work on some things I couldn’t do much because of school. Playing board games with my family (don’t get mixed up with bored games, those are a terrible invention!), cooking, or even playing in the garden, are a great way of spending time at home.

As for me, I now spend Wednesdays with South Woodford Young Writers Club on Zoom, still consuming new skills of writing.

I miss my favourite sausage rolls from Wanstead High Street. However, my mum now has more time and inspiration for cooking. My parents don’t live together (not that I’m making myself Andy from The Suitcase Kid by Jacqueline Wilson), but due to the lockdown, I get to spend more time with my dad as he is working less. This is very exciting, as it’s not a usual thing for me.

Although there are many positive things to think about, I realise that our world is out of control, that Mother Nature has turned on us and endangered people’s lives. I hear about what’s happening on the radio, although my mum thinks that hearing or watching the news now might not be for my young ears.

In the Young Writers Club, our teacher, Shameem, has given us the splendid task of writing a poem about Earth, and I would like to share my poem with you here:

The tables have been turning
My stomach’s stopped churning
A bad man threw a black cloud
And devastated that town
Mother Nature was tired of us
Now it’s over
There’s not a Range Rover seen
There will be no illness on our Queen
Or us
We’ll stay and pray for the best
And we won’t make a fuss
Let’s enjoy and appreciate
That there’s less littering
Our world’s ecology is quickening
My heart is alive
Full of happiness
It’s a time when people start spending time with each other more
Now our family shall rest
While in the action places
Doctors are on a quest
SAVING LIVES

The Refugee Welcome Wanstead crowdfunder has reached its target of £5,000.

A spokesperson for Wanstead Parish, one of the five member churches of the community sponsorship group, said: “We’re over the moon about reaching our target, especially during this difficult time. Thank you so much to everyone who donated, supported, shared and left kind comments on our crowdfunding page. The support has been incredible. With eight days still to go [as of 1 May], we have now added a stretch target of £6,000. We had a funding shortfall of around £9,000 to make up, so any additional funds raised will go towards reducing that amount even further. As COVID-19 reaches Syria, and refugee camps around the world hunker down, knowing that we will be able to lift one family out of poverty gives us great satisfaction.”

Who are Refugee Welcome Wanstead?

Five churches in the Redbridge and Waltham Forest area: St Mary’s Woodford, Wanstead Parish, Our Lady of Lourdes, St Gabriel’s and St Peter’s-in-the-Forest, have formed  a Community Sponsorship group in order to support and absorb a refugee family into our community.

Click here to donate.

The Friends of Aldersbrook Riding School was established last month to help support the local stables.

“Our aim is to support the school to help ensure it continues to provide an invaluable facility for our local communities. We will be organising fundraising activities that will enhance the wellbeing of our horses and run activities, talks and social events,” said a spokesperson.

Children are invited to paint a picture of a horse or pony to be displayed at the school, with the best entry receiving a riding voucher.

Visit wnstd.com/fars

Like so many other businesses impacted by the restrictions designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus, this publication has had to adapt.

The Wanstead Village Directory and the South Woodford Village Gazette have joined forces to continue publishing during these difficult times.

Copies will not be delivered to homes for the time being (click here for an explanation), but every effort has been made to provide as many residents with a copy as possible, via our network of distribution stands. In Wanstead, the stands are located in Tesco, Co-op and the Post Office. In South Woodford, the stands are located in Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, M&S and Co-op.

Our ethos of supporting the community and the local economy is more important now than ever before. You can help us do that by picking up a copy when you can.

Press photographer Stefan Rousseau replaced Boris Johnson with the bluebells of Wanstead Park last month.

“My speciality is politics, but with the Prime Minister recovering from Covid-19 and the government largely operating from home, my working week has become a daily challenge to come up with picture ideas… I usually run in Wanstead Park, but this time I took my cameras. I spent an hour photographing walkers, runners and cyclists, all stopping to view the blue carpet of spring flowers,” said Stefan.