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An initiative to supply Christmas dinner to local residents in need and those living on their own will return to Wanstead next month.

“Last year, we organised the ‘Cook an extra Christmas Dinner’ project, where local families cooked an extra meal that was given to a person in need… If you could provide an extra plate for someone and drop it round to them on Christmas Day, please let me know. If we get enough offers, we should be able to match people fairly locally. In addition, if you know of someone who would benefit from having a Christmas meal, please get in touch. I am especially interested in offers and requests for vegan and vegetarian meals, and other dietary requirements, so we can match cooks and diners more effectively this year,” said organiser Paul Canal.

Join the Facebook group here, email Paul.canal@gmail.com or text 07769 159 433

Ahead of a virtual meeting of Redbridge Council’s new climate forum, Councillor Jo Blackman, Cabinet Member for Environment and Civic Pride, outlines plans to improve greenery across the borough. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

The pandemic made us all realise the importance of green space in and around our neighbourhoods. The benefits of green space are extensive and well documented – for our own health and well-being as well as for the global climate, nature and biodiversity.

Redbridge Council has recently undertaken a thorough review and update of its policies for managing our green space. For the first time ever, we have a Green Urban Landscape Policy that puts nature and an equitable distribution of green space at its heart.

Nearly 500 people participated in the consultation, showing the value our residents also put on our green space – with environmental concerns and societal benefits featuring prominently in the submissions.

In line with the views received, our new strategy puts the needs of residents and nature at its heart as it sets out how the council will protect, manage and improve greenery and trees.

The action plan included in the policy sets out a number of actions the council will take over the next three years.

We aim to plant over 2,000 new highway trees in addition to several hundred replacement trees, and to replant many shrubs that have been lost from highway beds. This is in addition to thousands more trees that will be planted on other sites across the borough as we seek to support the London-wide target of a 10% increase in canopy cover by 2050.

We have trialled a number of grow zones across the borough where we left grass verges to grow to benefit biodiversity. Initial studies of these sites have revealed an incredible variety of plants and insects, with over 100 different plants identified. We therefore plan to increase these to cover 50,000 square metres across the borough, which equates to 25% of high grass verges.

Our new policy rightly recognises that we need to work with residents to promote the value of our green space, and to help us protect, manage and enhance it.

Our tree pit adoption scheme saw over 1,300 tree pits signed up for adoption this year and we are aiming to double this. Next year, we’ll also be giving away free packets of wild flower seeds to all those who adopt a tree pit. So, make sure you adopt yours – all those who have previously adopted them will need to reapply again this year.

We’re grateful to all our community groups, including the Wanstead and Woodford Community Gardeners, Wild Wanstead and the South Woodford urban orchard, as well as those that maintain the green space around our places of worship and schools. These groups play a vital role, enhancing our natural environment and building strong communities. To support these and other groups across the borough, we’re giving away a record 50,000 bulbs this year for planting in publicly accessible sites.

We also want to encourage people to improve greenery on private land and we will soon be publishing details of our winter fruit tree giveaway.

Finally, we will be hosting an online session on 1 December to explain more about our plans to improve greenery and tackle climate change and how you can get involved.

Applications to adopt a tree pit close on 30 November. Visit wnstd.com/adoptatreepit

To take part in the virtual meeting of Redbridge Council’s new climate forum (1 December, 6.30pm), visit wnstd.com/climateforum

Wanstead’s Christmas lights will be switched on this month.

“The Wanstead Christmas lights switch on will return in-person on Friday 19 November at 4.30pm. There will be traditional music from local schools and performers, the cast of the Kenneth More Theatre pantomime and hopefully our star local milkman from 4pm on George Green. We’ll look forward to seeing you there!” said the Wanstead Village councillors.

Eleanor Taylor was part of a group that welcomed a Syrian refugee family to Wanstead earlier this year. As that family continue to enjoy a safer and happier life, there are now many Afghans in need of similar help

The recent end of UK operations in Afghanistan meant we all saw heart-breaking footage of families who had worked with the UK-backed government, women in positions of power, translators and interpreters, joining the scramble to board flights to safety. Many of us watching wondered how we might be able to directly assist families to start a new life in a place of safety.

The UK government recently released details of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme, which will help to relocate some of these families to the UK. In part, the scheme will rely on local authorities to accommodate and resettle families, but the programme will also have a voluntary element. This means all of us in Wanstead and surrounding communities can help Afghan refugee families start a new life, through support and donations, but especially through Community Sponsorship. The scheme will work in the same way as that which helped a group of us to welcome a Syrian refugee family to Wanstead in early 2021.

Our Community Sponsorship journey began in 2019 when a group of volunteers were put in touch by local churches, formed Refugee Welcome Wanstead and applied to the Home Office to support a family for their first two years in the UK. The goal of the project is to support a family towards developing the skills and knowledge needed to live an independent life after their two years with us.

The application process involved fundraising, sourcing suitable accommodation and liaison with the council and other local service providers. We were then matched to a registered refugee family by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organisation for Migration, considering property size, additional needs, and existing links or language compatibility with the host country.

We are currently six months into working with our family, with support from the charity Reset UK, and they are progressing remarkably well. This scheme has helped hundreds of Syrian refugees in the UK, and similar schemes worldwide have enabled thousands of vulnerable refugees to flee the Syrian conflict.

It is clear that, in the coming months, the need for volunteers who can help to support a family fleeing the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan will be greater than ever. There are lots of ways you can help to welcome Afghan refugees to safety. If you would like to hear more about our experience working directly through the Community Sponsorship scheme, please get in touch.

To help welcome an Afghan refugee family, visit wnstd.com/reset

For more information about Refugee Welcome Wanstead, visit wnstd.com/welcome

The Wren Wildlife Group, London Wildlife Trust and Wild Wanstead have compiled a list of 10 species at risk of local extinction. In the ninth of a series of articles looking at each species in turn, Nicola Steele discusses the steps needed to save one of our most endangered creatures, the hedgehog

It’s ironic that one of the UK’s favourite wild animals is also one of the most endangered – as the plight of the hedgehog is a direct result of, you guessed it, us!

As hedgerows have been ripped out in the countryside to make way for industrial farming, and greenery has been ripped out in the cities to make way for patios and cars, these charismatic little creatures have struggled to find a place to call home amongst us. Hedgehogs are classified as vulnerable to extinction on the Red List of British Mammals. Numbers have been dropping for many years now, and even in the past decade, we have lost over a half of rural hedgehogs and a third from towns and cities. This isn’t sustainable and means we could lose hedgehogs for good in the UK.

The decline in towns and cities seems to be slowing, but the situation in the countryside is a real concern. In Wanstead, there are still a few hedgehogs around, but the only known remaining stronghold is in the area around the City of London Cemetery. They are dying here because of factors like traffic, loss of habitat and use of garden pesticides.

One of the reasons hedgehogs have struggled with the modern way we manage our land is that they roam widely during the night in search of food – often by as much as two to four kilometres. This means they need access to space that’s well connected and easy to move around. Roads, fences and walls all create a direct barrier that blocks their ability to forage.

Hedgehogs are fascinating animals. If threatened with danger, they raise their 3,000 to 5,000 spines and curl up into a tight ball. Between November and March, when food is in short supply, hedgehogs hibernate in a nest in a hedgerow, compost heap, or under a thick layer of leaves or logs. Their body temperature drops and breathing almost stops. Hedgehogs are awake again and ready to breed in April. The female makes a nest of leaves and grass and has three to five babies. At first, the young are blind and pink, but soon sprout soft white spines. By four weeks old, they’re ready to go foraging with their mother, and in another 10 days, the offspring go their separate ways. If you’re interested in finding out more, Hedgehog Street is a great organisation trying to save our spikey friends that has lots of information on their website.

How to help

• To help rural hedgehogs, you could consider avoiding industrially produced food and opt for organic, if feasible.
• Closer to home, don’t use slug pellets or pesticides in the garden – hedgehogs eat creepy crawlies so you’re indirectly poisoning them.
• Make your garden attractive to hedgehogs and the food they eat. Leave a wild corner, make a mini wildlife meadow or have a wildlife pond (with an escape ramp).
• Have habitats in your garden suitable for hedgehogs to hibernate in.
• Make hedgehog highways with your neighbours so that hedgehogs can move between gardens to find food at night. Create gaps in your boundaries of 13cm by 13cm (which is too small for nearly all pets to get through), or use hedgehog-friendly gravel boards with ready-made holes. Dig a channel under a wall, fence or gate, or cut a hole at the bottom of the structure.
• If you are lucky enough to have hedgehogs in your garden or neighbourhood, provide supplementary food, ideally dry or wet cat food (not fish).

For more information on helping hedgehogs, visit hedgehogstreet.org

For more information about the 10 species under threat of extinction in Wanstead, visit wnstd.com/the10

As the Friends of Wanstead Parklands prepares its funding strategy for 2022, John Sharpe looks at how money has been spent this year and explains why partnerships with third parties are increasingly important. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

Wanstead Park users will have been drawn to the elegant new fingerpost signs dotted strategically around the entrances and grounds. These are the culmination of a £4.1k project, with the funding obtained by the Friends of Wanstead Parklands (FWP) and installed by Epping Forest.

The FWP stall at the Wanstead Festival highlighted the other recent voluntary and financial contributions made by the Friends: £10k funding for work on the Grotto; £900 towards new entrance noticeboards; and the organisation of 40 marvellous volunteers to oversee the stewardship of the much-loved longhorn cattle over the summer.

In my June article for the Wanstead Village Directory, I referred to the evolving funding model for the Park, and the developing need for the Friends to collaborate more closely in fundraising with Epping Forest, whose responsibility it is to manage the Park.

It is not universally recognised that Epping Forest is itself a registered charity. During 2020/21, its income streams have decreased due to the impact of Covid, and as a consequence, new ways of raising cash have had to be identified.

One of these is the pay and display parking policy introduced to parts of the Forest earlier in the year, and to the Park’s Warren Road car park anytime soon. This step change in strategy has infuriated regular Forest users, but it is a done deal and although opposed, was steamrollered through by the Epping Forest Commons Committee.

Organisations such as the Friends face a difficult choice in positioning their relationship with the City: opposition or pragmatism?

For now, outside of the core Park maintenance, which Epping Forest provides, projects are increasingly subject to funding applications and work partnerships with third parties. Since the Friends successful joint initiative with the Heritage of London Trust, both the FWP and Epping Forest have turned to funding bids from disparate sources. Earlier this year, Epping Forest made a significant £600k bid to the Green Recovery Challenge Fund for monies to carry out wetlands restoration, pumphouse replacement and land drainage. The bid was ultimately unsuccessful but indicated the direction of travel.

More recently, a project initiated by the Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne Catchment Partnership, working with the City of London, has been funded by Essex and Suffolk Water: The Thames 21 Project. Its objective is to provide water environment improvements for the benefit of wildlife and biodiversity along the River Roding at Wanstead Park. The work is targeted to be carried out between now and January.

The planned natural play area in the Park to which the Friends have committed £2k will be subject to a funding bid to the City of London Central Grant Programme for essential cash.

Other funds also exist to support green initiatives. So, at the next Friends committee meeting, we will be focusing on developing a funding strategy for 2022.

Membership income and successful fund applications will be increasingly important to the FWP as we seek to improve the Park for all.

This is now what we need to do!

For more information and to become a member of the Friends of Wanstead Parklands (individual: £10 per year; household: £15 per year; lifetime: £90), visit wnstd.com/joinfwp

Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday commemorations will take place in Wanstead this month.

Residents are invited to a service at the Snaresbrook Garden of Remembrance on 11 November (arrive by 10.45am). This will be followed by a gathering at the Wanstead War Memorial on 14 November (arrive by 12.15pm).

“From the hymns and wreath-laying through to the sounding of the last post by a lone bugler, I am always struck by the solemnity and peacefulness of both occasions,” said organiser Colin Cronin.

In the third of a series of articles providing an update on the Cleaner Greener Wanstead initiative, Councillor Paul Donovan (Wanstead Village, Labour) looks at the challenges of tackling energy efficiency

One of the biggest challenges we face in the battle to reduce emissions and so cut global warming is a fundamental change in energy use. The use of fossil fuels needs to be phased out quickly. Renewable energy has to become the order of the day.

The government has recognised this demand, with a commitment for no new properties to have gas-fired boilers after 2025 – though with little detail or budget for delivery. There is also talk of a push for the replacement of existing gas-fired boilers, with technology like heat pumps and hydrogen-fuelled devices. Solar photovoltaic panels also have a role to play, though changes to feed-in tariffs have made them less economical for homeowners.

Some 56% of emissions in Redbridge come from buildings, with the council committed to switching to renewable energy for electricity in council buildings, as well as delivering retrofitting of insulation for hundreds of homes through the Go Green programme. However, council-based activities only account for 2.4% of total emissions in the borough.

Energy is an area where there needs to be a real reach out to individuals to act. And there are some fine examples in Wanstead of people taking just such positive actions.

One couple has solar panels on their roof that enables them to heat the house and charge their electric car. They also have low-energy appliances throughout their home.

Another household has solar photovoltaic panels on the roof supplying electricity and heating water. They also produce much of their own food from the back garden.

Another individual is taking advantage of the mayor’s Solar Together scheme, which buys up a large number of panels at a lower price. Selected fitters then assess the properties taking part and come up with a quote. The local resident who has applied for this scheme also intends to power his electric vehicle with energy captured from his roof.

We should all explore switching to renewable energy sourced suppliers, as well as exploring the potential to become our own micro-generator of energy. However, this technology can still be expensive and complicated, so the government needs to step in to help and ensure it is more accessible and economical. It’s only with that help that we are going to see the significant reductions in emissions from buildings required to turn the tide on climate change.

There is a long way to go to make Wanstead a sustainable energy centre, but the examples quoted show what can be done.

For more information on the initiative, visit cleanergreenerwanstead.org

The Wren Wildlife Group, London Wildlife Trust and Wild Wanstead have compiled a list of 10 species at risk of local extinction. In the eighth of a series of articles looking at each species in turn, Liz Ranger explains why it’s time to give toads a helping hand

Poor old toads get a bad rap – accused of having warts, featuring in witches’ brews and being used as an insulting description of someone. It’s a shame because if ever there was a little creature to welcome to our gardens it’s a toad. They are the friend of anyone trying to grow plants or veggies, sneaking up on slugs, aphids, ants and other insects and using their sticky tongues to hoover them up.

Common toads can vary in colour from greenish to grey-brown – sometimes with dark markings. Their skin is dry and bumpy, and when scared or threatened, they have a neat trick of secreting a vile-tasting substance as a defence against predators.

Common toads spend much of their time on dry land, but in early spring, they return to the pond in which they were spawned to find a mate and reproduce. Toad spawn is laid in long strings and tadpoles emerge in 10 days. After breeding, toads return to drier areas where they may spend long periods over summer, hidden away during the day and hunting for slugs and other food at night. Toads sit out the winter, burrowed in mud or under logs or a compost heap.

It’s not too late to spot a toad – the best time is at night between February and October – but you’ll have to be lucky, because despite being called ‘common’, they’re actually getting rarer. It is difficult to accurately assess toad populations, but in Wanstead, people are saying they now come across them less frequently in their gardens. Common toads are classified as a biodiversity priority species under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act because of recent declines. The problem is loss of the habitats where they live, particularly the removal of ponds and vegetation, and the drainage of wet areas of land. As green areas become more fragmented and we build more roads, more toads are being killed by traffic as they migrate to and from their breeding ponds.

How to help

• Create habitats in your garden where toads can live and feed, like a long grass area or piles of old wood or leaves in a shady location. Have an open compost heap for vegetable peelings and garden waste.
• Build a wildlife pond – find out how at wnstd.com/pond
• Help minibeasts thrive in your garden to provide food for toads. Don’t use slug pellets or pesticides. Invertebrates love dense undergrowth where they can hide away, so why not leave a corner to go wild?

For more information about the 10 species under threat of extinction in Wanstead, visit wnstd.com/the10

The City of London Corporation is exploring the feasibility of installing artificial grass pitches (AGPs) on Wanstead Flats.

“The proposed project aims to reduce the overall footprint on the Flats taken up by sport by replacing 17 of the grass pitches with three AGPs. This means around 34 acres of Wanstead Flats can be recreated for ecological benefit… At the same time, the durability of artificial grass will increase football pitch availability [for the community],” said a spokesperson.

A public consultation is expected this winter.

Kathy Taylor explains the story behind Wanstead’s first large-scale mural, a singing nightingale on Nightingale Lane. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

Back in January 2021, I was dreaming up an idea of a Festival of Nightingales for September on Nightingale Lane, Wanstead as a celebration, a wake and a rallying cry for this wonderful bird. Sadly, due to council Covid restrictions at the time, the idea had to be severely curtailed to last month’s mini festival.

However, in response to my door-to-door leafleting, Mark Clack of Wood Street Walls got in touch to ask if there was suitable wall space for a nightingale mural in the area. A few possibilities were identified and by February we approached Syed Asad Haque of the India Garden restaurant, who was delighted by the idea of having his end wall brightened up, being a fan of the Walthamstow murals. Mark selected one of his artist contacts, Gavin McPhail, who came up with a design that was approved by locals and Syed.

Now we see how a plain wall can be enhanced with design and colour, I am sure there will be a demand to brighten up other Wanstead walls!

The image is of a nightingale, which is a small brown bird with a creamy breast and a pale ring around its eye.

This mysterious, rarely seen bird is best known for its amazing melodious song (celebrated by poets since Homer in 750 BC) rather than its plumage, so the artist has made a depiction of its song prominent in the design.

The nightingale is in steep decline in the UK (a 91% dive in numbers since 1967), probably due to climate change and scrub habitat loss (disturbance from industrial farming practices – it nests near the ground – and grazing by muntjac deer both contribute to this). At a talk given by James Heal from the local Wren Wildlife group for the mini festival, attendees were amazed to learn that a nightingale was last heard on Wanstead Flats only this spring! However, this is a rare ‘sighting’ as it would have been passing through, looking for a suitable habitat on return from its winter migration to west Africa (it is thought).

Fishers Green in the Lea Valley is probably the nearest known place that you might hear one in spring at dusk. But what is the answer to the question: “Would there ever have been nightingales nesting in Wanstead?” There is a record of someone catching 34 birds in 1858 in Leytonstone, so almost undoubtedly, the answer is yes.

Thankfully, we no longer trap nightingales, even if we could find 34 of them! They are the canaries in the coal mine, an indicator of the drastic decline in our biodiversity and many of our much-loved songbird populations, including turtle doves and, locally, skylarks.

How can you help the nightingales? Campaign for better farming practices and more rewilding projects, find out how your food is produced and influence things via your spending power.

For more information on the Wren Wildlife Group, visit wnstd.com/wren

For more information on Wood Street Walls, visit wnstd.com/wsw

Drivers are reminded that from 25 October, the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is expanding to cover a larger area out to the North and South Circular (the North and South Circular themselves are not in the zone).

This will incorporate western areas of Redbridge, including Wanstead, Snaresbrook, Aldersbrook and South Woodford.

The expanded ULEZ will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a £12.50 daily charge for vehicles that do not meet the required emissions standards.

Visit wnstd.com/ulez

A campaign has been launched to raise £20,000 to create a natural play area in Wanstead Park.

“Residents have been campaigning for play facilities in or close to Wanstead Park for three decades. If this campaign demonstrates strong support, we may also be eligible for matched funding of up to 50% of the total from Redbridge Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy scheme,” said Caroline Clancy.

The play area – to be located on former scrubland behind the Temple – has been planned in consultation with local groups and will be constructed from natural materials found in Epping Forest. Volunteers and arborists from the City of London will be building most of the play structures, but funds are needed to purchase some specialist equipment

“If we don’t raise the full £20,000, then unfortunately, we receive nothing!”

Donations can be made until 6 December.

Visit wnstd.com/parkplay

Messages of hope decorated a sycamore tree on Christchurch Green earlier this month as part of the Spreading Kindness Through E11 initiative.

“We were so pleased to be able to bring back the Kindness Tree to the Wanstead Festival. This time, we were joined by Wanstead Climate Action to encourage messages about hope for a brighter future, both within our community and for our planet. Thank you so much to everyone who contributed. It was definitely one of our most decorated trees to date!” said Elsa Arnold.

In the fourth of a series of articles by plot holders at the Redbridge Lane West allotments – which are under threat from the adjacent gas works – Iain Ambler explains the site’s importance for local biodiversity

The proposal by our neighbour Cadent, the global gas company, to use all or part of Redbridge Lane West allotments as a compound to support their works has put the future of the site at risk. This hidden natural jewel in the middle of Wanstead is a diverse and rich habitat with a strong tradition of wildlife conservation, and I believe the site should continue to be conserved for the benefit of wildlife and all Wanstead residents.

From historic maps, it would appear the allotments were originally glebeland (meadows belonging to the Rector of Wanstead), becoming allotment land by 1915. We have found exemplar flora in some of the undeveloped areas between plots that suggest these are relict patches of old natural grassland.

In recent years, there has been a history of active wildlife engagement by plot holders, working together and with the council. Previous conservation efforts have included tree planting, installing a large pond and bog pond, and creation and management of a wildlife area in the middle of the site. The wildlife has been beautifully recorded in images on the website East London Nature (eastlondonnature.co.uk), currently maintained by one of our plot holders.

The site, opposite Wanstead Leisure Centre, is triangular in shape and is squeezed in between Redbridge Lane West on one side and the A12 on the other. It boasts mature trees on each of its three sides, including hornbeam, Lombardy poplar, lime, London plane, silver birch, ash, Norway maple, sycamore, apple, and several weeping balsam poplar adjoining the Cadent gas site. Thick hawthorn hedging runs down the Redbridge Lane West side. This makes the site a fantastic habitat for nesting birds: we recently undertook an early morning breeding bird survey and recorded 15 to 20 nesting territories, including blackcap, jay, wren and great spotted woodpecker. The site sits at the end of a green corridor from Wanstead Park over the golf course: we have recorded common pipistrelle bats foraging on site, which we think roost in the park.

It’s simply amazing what diversity of wildlife exists under our feet, and what it does when you leave it alone! This summer, we recorded over 150 species of flora on the site. A number of these are grasses including false oat grass and Yorkshire fog. A fox and her cubs have been living in a den here this year and we have found wood mice and bank voles. Recently, an emperor moth caterpillar was spotted – a first for Wanstead.

The importance of urban microsites like our allotments and others locally, such as Tarzy Wood and George Green, for conserving and increasing biodiversity in the face of wider declines cannot be overemphasised.

To view the petition to save the Redbridge Lane West allotments, visit wnstd.com/rlw

A grass verge, a raised bed, a thin strip and a circular patch. Marian Temple offers a potted guide to four new local mini gardens, courtesy of the Wanstead Community Gardeners. Photography by Geoff Wilkinson

As if 2020 wasn’t active enough (it was one of our busiest years ever, gardening-wise), us community gardeners have continued creating new patchwork mini gardens across Wanstead in 2021.

1. First off the blocks is the Redbridge Lane West grass verge. This has been in a sorry state for years. Kathy Taylor of Wanstead Community Gardeners applied for a Community Infrastructure Levy grant for improvement here along with the application for the flower turf for the traffic island near The George. Vision RCL prepared the soil and planted the shrubs. They are small at the moment, so locals have planted flowers there till the shrubs grow. A great improvement.

2. The second new patch is the raised tree surround on the corner of Wellesley Road and Hermon Hill. The tree, a large horse chestnut, was more than dead. We asked Peter Marshall (Redbridge Council’s Principal Arboricultural and Horticultural Officer), the ‘go to’ person for street trees, if we could adopt this raised bed as we wanted a patch of flowers in this area of hard surfaces. A new street tree was planted outside the Methodist Church, and the raised tree surround, with the hollow dead tree stump, was handed over to us as requested. The stump gives more character for the patch and rotting wood is good for insects. A thick mat of couch grass and weeds removed and seeds sown in time for rain. The resulting patch of bright summer flowers has been a delight, especially for the lady who lives in the nearby block of flats who can look straight down onto them. The flowers will seed themselves so the patch will renew itself and a pot of lavender sits in the hollow tree stump. A delight for bees, and for us.

3. Number three new patch is almost up to the Green Man Roundabout. It is a strip of soil in a recess in the wall surrounding the Ennerdale Court flats. Weeds and rubbish removed; seeds sown and favourite cottage garden plants added. The generous rain was on our side. By August, the patch was flowering and morning glories were climbing the trellis. Next year, hollyhocks and Verbascum, our tall favourites, will be flowering. Lovely for anyone passing by and especially good for the bus drivers of the W14 as it terminates there. They really enjoy our patches, so now they can have one for themselves.

4. The jewel in the crown of this year’s new garden patches is definitely the traffic roundabout further along from our flower meadow in between The George and Wanstead Station. We adopted this five years ago and called it The Island Bed. This year, Ingrid, one of our super energetic gardeners, took on the mini roundabout as a project and, with amazing speed, has turned it into a garden. A massive amount of rubbish removed, ditto ivy, to allow sun and rain to the earth. This is a full sun area and is being filled with donated plants. Lots of shouted conversations between drivers waiting at the traffic lights and passers-by on the pavement. There is so much interest and delight at seeing the island transformed at such a pace. It has something of the style of Derek Jarman’s Dungeness Garden, with interesting pieces of wood planted vertically in the earth giving it a sculpture garden look. One such piece is sprouting beautiful dark red leaves. It has no roots, but no matter. Miracles happen on Ingrid’s Isle!

For more information on the work of the Wanstead Community Gardeners and to get involved, visit wnstd.com/wcg

The Wren Wildlife Group, London Wildlife Trust and Wild Wanstead have compiled a list of 10 species at risk of local extinction. In the seventh of a series of articles looking at each species in turn, Susie Knox says farewell to this summer’s swifts

Over the last few months, it’s been a joy to hear the distinctive screaming of the swifts as they zoom in small groups high over Wanstead in their endless aerial search for insects. Swifts spend most of their lives flying, even sleeping, eating and drinking on the wing and only ever landing to nest. Their scientific name, Apus, actually means ‘without feet’ because their tiny feet and legs mean they can hardly walk and can’t perch on trees or telephone lines (if you see a similar-looking bird do this, it’s probably a swallow or house martin).

Swifts come to the UK in the summer to breed and spend their winters in Africa – travelling thousands of miles during their migration. They like to nest high up in buildings in small holes in roof spaces. They pair for life, meeting up in the spring at the same nest site and sharing parenting duties. They normally lay two or three eggs and incubate them for about three weeks.

Sadly, swifts are on the Amber List of Birds of Conservation Concern. More than half of British swifts have been lost since 1995, probably because of a number of factors. We know from scientific evidence and the absence of bugs on our car windscreens that there have been very significant declines in flying insects, their food source.

As migratory birds, weather events associated with climate change will also impact them. But one very obvious issue in the UK is the loss of nesting sites in recent decades due to the modernisation of buildings, because swifts require suitable hollows and crevices in the eaves. In Wanstead, locals certainly report heavy falls in the number of swifts we see and hear in our skies over the summer.

Fortunately, there are lots of things we can do to support swift populations when they’re spending time with us.

How to help:

• If you’re lucky enough to have swifts nesting in your building, protect them by ensuring any building work near their nests is carefully managed.
• Put a special swift nest box under the eaves of your roof – or if you are having new building or renovation work done, incorporate ‘swift bricks’, which create nest holes integrated into the masonry (find out more at wnstd.com/swiftinfo).
• Email your local councillors asking them to demand that any new developments in Redbridge incorporate swift bricks.
• Make your garden an oasis for flying insects. Fill it with dense foliage and pollinator-friendly plants.
• Install a wildlife pond and create a long grass area – these are habitats that help insects thrive.
• Never use pesticides and lobby the council to stop using them.

For more information about the 10 species under threat of extinction in Wanstead, visit wnstd.com/the10

A petition to save the Redbridge Lane West allotment site from being used by Cadent will be debated at a Full Council meeting this month.

“We will be able to present the petition and then council members will be able to ask questions and debate it before making a decision. By the time of the meeting on 23 September, it will be six months since the gas company first told us they wanted to take over the site, and we are still no clearer about what exactly it is they want or need to do,” said plot holder Sally Parker.

Visit wnstd.com/rlw

Wanstead resident Jean Medcalf published her first poetry book last year. To Everything There is a Season is a collection of lyrical, spiritual poems about nature. In the 11th of a series of articles, Jean – who celebrated her 90th birthday earlier this year – recalls some local coincidental link-ups. Photo by Geoff Wilkinson

Last month, I talked about how Wanstead feels like a village where everybody seems to know everybody.  There are so many times when the people I know seem to link up with each other in unexpected ways.

I first noticed this when my husband and I moved onto our street 60 years ago. We found that Mrs Rawlings across the road had been in my husband’s class at Wanstead High School. Harold, who lived opposite, was the son of my husband’s boss at Waltham Forest College, and just around the corner lived Ted Smith, the landscape gardener who used to be the gardener when I went to Leyton County High. Some years later, a young man moved into the end house with his family – he greeted me in the street with: “You must be Sally’s mum!” It turned out he had been in my daughter’s class at art college!

I was also once accosted by a lady in Cranbourne Avenue who announced: “I know who you are!” Her name was Kath Setchell and she was my other daughter’s boyfriend’s auntie!

When I first met my dear friend Beryl, we got chatting about the people we knew, and she mentioned that she used to look after an elderly man locally who turned out to be the father of one of my daughter’s Nightingale School classmates. When I retired, I took a creative writing class at Wanstead House, where our tutor was one Brandon Robshaw, who you may have seen on TV. And guess what – he too was in my daughter’s class at Nightingale!

Similarly, my elder daughter and myself used to go to a French film club at Wanstead House. Our tutor was a lovely lady called Yvonne. When we got chatting, she knew my husband’s cousin as they played bridge together.

The coincidences go on. Just recently, an old friend of mine named Sandra was out walking her dog and got chatting to a couple who had recently moved in. On asking where they lived, they said Colvin Gardens. She said: “I used to live in Colvin Gardens. What number is your house?” It turned out they’d moved into the very same house that she once lived in!

A year or so ago, I spent some time convalescing in Forest Dene Care Home following a broken arm. And pretty soon I heard a familiar voice; it was a lady named Beatrice, and as you can no doubt guess, her son was a great friend of my daughter at Nightingale! (I feel that if your children went to Nightingale you will not be short of friends in later life.) Not only did I meet Beatrice but another lady called Christine I had not seen for 25 years, who used to work with me at Langthorne Hospital. And to cap it all, we were in the visitors’ lounge and I saw someone whose face I seemed to recognise. We got chatting and I asked her who she was. She was the daughter of my school caretaker, who I had not seen for 75 years!

But the oddest coincidence of all took place when I engaged a new home help, Stella, who was Greek. She went shopping up the High Street, got lost and asked directions from a helpful lady, explaining that she had just arrived from Athens. By some strange chance, the lady she spoke to spoke fluent Greek! She and Stella went for a coffee together, and the helpful lady asked Stella who she was working for. “Jean Medcalf,” explained Stella, and the helpful lady replied: “Oh, I know Jean!” Can you guess who that lady was? Our very own Marian Temple!

Late Beauty
by Jean Medcalf

From my bedroom window

I can see into the heart of my tall old pear tree

My father-in-law called it Doyenne du Comice

Now in October the Virginia creeper twines carmine

Blood red among the green pendant pears

The creeper comes into its crimson beauty in autumn

At the height of its power its leaves will drop

Suddenly to burnish the brown earth beneath

It is at the height of its beauty just before death

I wonder – is this how it will be with grandparents

Best just before death?

Jean’s book To Everything There is a Season is available in paperback (£5.75). Visit wnstd.com/jean

Redbridge Council is giving away 50,000 spring-flowering bulbs in the return of its Big Bulb Giveaway.

“Since its launch three years ago, the much-loved initiative has continued to flourish, and we are giving away an extra 10,000 bulbs this year. Community groups, residents and schools can request the bulbs by completing an online form by 20 September,” said a spokesperson.

The giveaway will be followed by its partner event, The Big Planting Weekend, taking place between 15 and 17 October.

Visit wnstd.com/bbg

High Street Wanstead will be closed to traffic between Grove Park and Wanstead Place on 12 September to create a car-free Wanstead Festival.

“This will allow for easy movement between High Street shops and cafés and Christchurch Green,” said Councillor Jo Blackman. The community event – which runs from 11am to 6pm – is making a return this year along with the Wanstead Fringe (3 to 19 September). “These events highlight the best of Wanstead, so we wish organisers every success.”

Visit wnstd.com/festival21

In the third of a series of articles by plot holders at the Redbridge Lane West allotments – which are under threat from the adjacent gas works – Geoff King explains why his fruit and veg is unsurpassed

I never knew or met Sandy Sanderson or his wife Gemma. If I had, I’m sure we would have shared our knowledge of gardening for many hours. Sandy was the predecessor of my allotment in Redbridge Lane West. There is no mistaking his skill and the amount of sheer hard work he put in. It is etched (literally) in every corner of my plot. Numerous carvings appear everywhere. He built seats, raised beds and fruit cages, all laid out against neat paths.

Around five years ago I was similarly employed in my large North Lincs garden. A garden I tended for 26 years, which encompassed a veg plot, orchard and herbaceous borders. Little did I think I would be ‘up-sticking’ to Wanstead within months of revamping my own vegetable patch, but that’s another story, and I now find myself on Sandy and Gemma’s former – and much-loved – plot.

Pruning the apple, pear and plum trees and feeding the soil were first on my list of tasks. I also planted new raspberry canes, strawberry beds and a rhubarb patch. All of these require a two-year bedding-in period before maturing or picking. So, patience is required.

The sheer pleasure of working on this plot and watching things grow has been immeasurable. I had help, of course: Sandy had left his ‘man cave’ little shed packed with tools, books and every conceivable item you could ever want. In the early days of the pandemic, I found myself drawn to the plot almost daily. What a mental life-saver. Then came the news of the Cadent gas company proposed takeover. Am I to be uprooted again?

If this is the case, do I have the sheer will to start over again? Bearing in mind, if one is offered a new council plot, it is most likely to be untouched by spade or fork for a considerable time. I don’t know the answer yet, but what I do know is that my investment on the plot has been substantial, not just my time, but financially.

I am often asked if the investment in an allotment is worth the expense. The answer is yes and no. My personal opinion is: no, you can eat cheaper from your supermarket shop. But yes, the fruit and veg from my plot is unsurpassed. Until you have tasted your own potatoes, which were in the ground an hour before, or eaten strawberries that have never seen a plastic carton, then you have missed a rare treat.

So, if you’re thinking of starting an allotment yourself, seek me out at Redbridge Lane West and I will show you around.

For more information and to view the petition to save the Redbridge Lane West allotments, visit wnstd.com/rlw

As the Wanstead Society prepares to celebrate its silver jubilee, the group’s chair Scott Wilding reflects on their work to date and looks forward to the next 25 years of ‘protecting and enhancing Wanstead’

The Wanstead Society celebrates its silver jubilee in 2022, and as we have been active now for nearly a quarter of a century, we thought it would be good to take a look back at what we think we got right, where we can improve and how we might change to meet the challenges of the next 25 years.

The Society was formed in 1997 when the average cost of a pint of beer was £1.84, leaded petrol was around 60p a litre and the average cost of a three-bedroom terrace house in Wanstead was around £190,000. How times have changed. What hasn’t changed is the Society’s founding principles of protecting and enhancing Wanstead.

Our main aim 25 years ago, when a small group of like-minded individuals got together, was to prevent overdevelopment in Wanstead and protect its historical characteristics. This soon branched out to a wider movement to help improve the area where we live. Over the last quarter of a century, the Society has taken on a variety of projects, from aiding the start of the Wanstead Festival, working with others to create the first art trail, paid for bins and benches on Christchurch Green, planted trees and bulbs, offered advice to help start the South Woodford Society and funded the Wanstead Community Gardeners. We have also spent many hours working with developers to secure good-quality design for new and existing buildings in Wanstead.

While we haven’t got everything right over the last 25 years, we can be proud that our contribution has made a difference to our community.

Looking back to take stock of what has been achieved is always worth doing. It reminds us of how far we have come. But, if the Society is to remain relevant over the next 25 years, we have to adapt and change.

The next quarter of a century will present challenges not yet invented. But one challenge facing us now, and in the future, remains: the climate crisis. Nowhere will escape the effects of changing weather and an altered environment. To pass on a better Wanstead to a future generation, we will update our constitution to have a greater environmental focus, form stronger links with local schools and environmental groups as well as maintaining our core commitment to a better urban realm.

The pandemic has showcased how valuable our parks and green spaces are, but also how important our community is when things get tough. For this reason, and with the advert opposite this article, we hope you will want to find out more about us and join our action group.

For more information on the Wanstead Society, visit wansteadsociety.org.uk or write to:
Wanstead Society, c/o Wanstead House 21 The Green, Wanstead, E11 2NT.

The Wren Wildlife Group, London Wildlife Trust and Wild Wanstead have compiled a list of 10 species at risk of local extinction. In the sixth of a series of articles looking at each species in turn, Alex Deverill reflects on Wanstead’s skylarks

August marks the end of the breeding season for skylarks. Wanstead Flats is home to the only breeding population of these birds in inner London, and this year has seen the use of temporary fencing to stop their nest areas from being disturbed by people and dogs. Initiatives like these are essential if we are to prevent the extinction of skylarks locally – and in the UK more generally.

Skylarks are on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern. In the UK, the population halved during the 1990s and is still declining. They are a victim of modern intensive farming. Cereals are now sown in autumn, not spring, which has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of chicks raised each year. Skylark numbers are also thought to have been affected by increased use of insecticides and weedkillers (contributing to insect declines), intensification of grazing on grasslands, and the switch from hay to silage, which results in many nests being destroyed by cutting machinery. In their preferred habitat of farmland, numbers crashed by 75% between 1972 and 1996. This makes the survival of the skylarks on Wanstead Flats even more important. In the absence of arable fields locally, skylarks construct their nests on the ground in areas of unmown grass; they also feed on areas of mown grass, such as football pitches.

Skylarks are streaky brown birds with a crest. Their song has inspired many musical and literary works. Male skylarks can be spotted rising almost vertically from the ground before hovering effortlessly and singing at great height. Their song flights can last for up to an hour and the birds can reach 300m before descending.

Despite their aerial activities, skylarks nest on the ground, laying three to four eggs. The nest is a hollow, lined with leaves, grasses and hair. The eggs are incubated for 11 days. The parents feed the chicks on insects for their first week, then gradually introduce small quantities of shoots and seeds for a mixed diet. Chicks become independent after only two weeks, but skylarks need two to three broods of young each year to maintain populations.

How to help:

Being able to rear their chicks in peace is essential if Wanstead’s skylarks are to survive, so please support the ring-fenced areas on the Flats, always stick to the paths and keep dogs on a lead where indicated.

Oppose plans that would create increased disturbance on Wanstead Flats – this would harm the skylarks and many other creatures that rely on this important area of wild land.

For more information about the 10 species under threat of extinction in Wanstead, visit wnstd.com/the10

In the first of a series of articles providing an update on the Cleaner Greener Wanstead initiative, Councillor Paul Donovan (Wanstead Village, Labour) looks at how local biodiversity is being improved

The Cleaner Greener Wanstead initiative (also known as the Environmental Charter) has been gaining momentum over recent months. The framework involves a number of different strands, including biodiversity, reducing litter and plastic waste, sustainable travel and energy efficiency. Over the next four months, there will be updates on how things are going in each of these four areas.

The first, biodiversity, has seen several moves to improve the situation in Wanstead. The Grow Zone initiative, whereby areas are managed but allowed to run wild, now covers parts of Christchurch Green and George Green, as well as Roding Valley Park (at the end of Elmcroft Avenue). The Grow Zone methodology has also been expanded out across the borough. Those who took part in No Mow May will have seen first-hand the fantastic effect that letting an area run wild does for flower and insect life.

There has also been an increase in the number of people adopting tree pits, with more than 1,200 adopted across the borough – these too increase insect life, with bees particularly prospering. The council has also replaced more than 1,000 trees across Redbridge, 50 of those in Wanstead.

The whole High Street area is looking greener, with more planters, people and businesses adopting tree pits, as well as putting in their own hanging baskets and raised beds. The addition of the mobility hub outside the Co-op also brings more greenery, as well as cycle rings and an electric vehicle charging point.

Community composting has begun, with a new project starting out, based on the Wanstead Place side of Christchurch Green. Hopefully, this will lead to a wider uptake. And the work of Wild Wanstead and the Community Gardeners continues to massively add to the biodiversity right across Wanstead.

So, things are happening in terms of creating a really clean, green culture. There is, though, always more to do. There are plans to make Cambridge Park – between the Green Man and Redbridge roundabouts – into a greener corridor, with more trees, hedging and other initiatives to increase biodiversity and combat pollution and climate change. It would also be good if people could be dissuaded from converting their gardens to concrete – this reduces biodiversity as well as drainage capacity. Better still would be if those who have concrete areas returned all, or part, to the natural state.

To really succeed in improving our biodiversity, there has to be a public and private conversion to a new, more green and clean way of living. In Wanstead, the early signs are encouraging, but there is still much to do.

For more information on the initiative, visit cleanergreenerwanstead.org