All posts by Colin

May 2023 Conservation Task

Sunday 7th May nature conservationtask will be invasive species management around the Waterworks Nature Reserve

The task will help the rangers control the meadows and invasive species. The task will also exposed the dormant soil seed bank. We will have a chance to have a coronation picnic and be able to explore the nature reserve

All are welcome to join us and no experience is required. Please meet us at the Waterworks so we can provide enough tools. If You are curious about what happens on a LBCV task, one of our regular volunteers did the following live video on the October 2020 task

Please wear appropriate clothing which is long sleeves and trousers NO SHORTS as we are possibly handling bramble  and wear stout footwear for the task and weather. We will be working in an area with long grass and possibly nettles and brambles, so closed shoes/boots and long trousers and sleeves would be best.

Join Us

Everybody is welcome to volunteer with LBCV. No  experience is required. Please wear sturdy footwear and appropriate clothing for the work and weather. We will possibly be working with brambles and nettles and sharp tools.

We are out of lockdown but some restrictions still need to apply for LBCV to safely be able to run volunteer tasks in the Lea Valley Park, with the restrictions below.

  • If you are ill, feel ill or have been in contact with somebody who is self-isolating please do not volunteer.
  • Please take a test if you are not sure.
  • Please wash your hands before the task in warm water or hand sanitiser.
  • Use gloves when handling all tools.
  • Wash your hands before eating or drinking in warm water or hand sanitiser

LBCV can supply  wellington boots to work in, please arrive in plenty of time at the Waterworks, to select your pair.

LBCV will provide tools, training, gloves, coffee, tea and biscuits. Please bring some lunch and water.

Please arrive from 9:30am onwards at the Waterworks Centre Lammas Road, off Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, London E10 7QT, for a 10am departure to collect tools and gloves. The meeting place is by the bike racks in front of the Waterworks Centre, across from the former Greyhound Public House on Lea Bridge Road. If you use what three words ///guises.manage.entry is the location.

Please lock bicycles to the stands in front of the Waterworks Centre. There is ample free car parking. Dogs are not allowed in the Nature Reserve so please do not cross the bridge with dogs or ride bicycles in the nature reserve. Dogs are still welcome on some tasks, but not this one, as we are in an closed nature reserve.

We should be finished by 4.30pm

Volunteering and doing a conservation task with LBCV in North East London, is great way to meet new people, learn new skills, use old skills, be more active, get closer to nature, make a difference and have some fun with like-minded people in the Lea Valley Regional Park.

April 2023 Conservation Task

The Sunday 2nd April 2023 nature conservation task was due to be in the scrape on Walthamstow Marshes but the area is too wet, so we will do invasive species management on Leyton Marsh near Ox-Bow Island.

The task will help the rangers control invasive species, without resorting to using chemical weedkillers. The task will allow the exposed seed bank to not have to compete with the more prolific species we are removing. It is likely to be a shorter task than usual, so we will have a chance to have a picnic and be able to explore the nature reserve.

It that time of the year so cakes are always welcome !

All are welcome to join us and no experience is required. Please meet us at the Waterworks so we can provide enough tools. If You are curious about what happens on a LBCV task, one of our regular volunteers did the following live video on the October 2020 task

Please wear appropriate clothing which is long sleeves and trousers and wear stout footwear, PLEASE NO SHORTS as we are possibly handling very hazardous plants. We will be working in an area with nettles and brambles, so closed shoes/boots and long trousers and sleeves would be safest.

Working on the Marshes Rainbow
Join Us
Everybody is welcome to volunteer with LBCV. No experience is required. Please wear sturdy waterproof footwear and appropriate clothing for the work and weather. We will possibly be working in an area with brambles and nettles and as well as suing sharp heavy tools.

We are out of lockdown but some restrictions still need to apply for LBCV to safely be able to run volunteer tasks in the Lea Valley Park, with the restrictions below.

If you are ill, feel ill or have been in contact with somebody who is self-isolating please do not volunteer.
Please take a test if you are not sure.
Please wash your hands before the task in warm water or hand sanitiser.
Wash your hands before eating or drinking in warm water or hand sanitiser
LBCV can supply wellington boots to work in, please arrive in plenty of time at the Waterworks, to select your pair. An extra pair of socks will provide protect from blisters.

LBCV will provide tools, training, gloves, coffee, tea and biscuits. Please bring some lunch and water.

Please arrive from 9:30am onwards at the Waterworks Centre Lammas Road, off Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, London E10 7QT, for a 10am departure to collect tools and gloves. The meeting place is by the bike racks in front of the Waterworks Centre, across from the former Greyhound Public House on Lea Bridge Road. If you use what three words ///guises.manage.entry is the location.

Please lock bicycles to the stands in front of the Waterworks Centre. There is ample free car parking. Dogs are not allowed in the Nature Reserve so please do not cross the bridge with dogs or ride bicycles in the nature reserve. Dogs are still welcome on some tasks, inclusing this one, as we are in an open nature reserve.

We should be finished by 3pm

Volunteering and doing a conservation task with LBCV in North East London, is great way to meet new people, learn new skills, use old skills, be more active, get closer to nature, make a difference and have some fun with like-minded people in the Lea Valley Regional Park.

December 2022 Volunteer Coppicing Conservation Task

Sunday 11th December

### CHANGE OF DATE NOT 4TH ###

Walthamstow Marshes Coppicing Horseshoe Thicket

Our annual coppicing task creates biodiversity in the thicket by creating different light levels via the changing the canopy cover. We will also create a valuable ecosystem of lying deadwood with the felled trunks becoming a carbon store. Standing deadwood is not possible in such a public woodland.

A walk around the thicket will enable you to see the various coups (coppiced areas) from previous years’ tasks, last year’s coup being the most verdant as the seed bank has been exposed to light for the first time in over a decade.

LBCV have been coppicing Horseshoe Thicket for over 20 years. All people (18+) are welcome to join us no experience necessary. Just turn up at the Waterworks Centre, around 9:45am, to help us move the tools to the site. We do the monthly tasks in all weathers, so please dress for the weather.

Copicing Novemeber 2020 task

โ† Back

Thank you for your response. โœจ

February 2021 TASK cancelled

Sunday 7 February 2021

Cancelled due to National Lockdown restrictions.

We will be back.

Conservation task working on the bed walls at the Waterworks Nature Reserve.

More details in the task reminder email after the site visit.

This is the eightth conservation task since the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown. LVRPA had stopped all volunteer activity for the volunteers’ and staff’s safety and wellbeing. Now some restrictions have lifted LBCV are able to run volunteer tasks in the Lea Valley Park, but with restrictions.

  • We cannot generally advertise the tasks apart from emailing those signed up to this task reminder email 
  • If you are ill, feel ill or have been in contact with somebody who is self-isolating please do not volunteer
  • Do not use public transport to travel to the task. 
  • Please wash your hands before the task in warm water or hand sanitiser.
  • Use gloves when handling all tools, touching gates or other items in the park
  • Do not share tools.
  • Work parties of no more than 6 people – LBCV can have multiple work parties on a task
  • Please maintain a social distance of at least 1m if 2m is not possible
  • Wash your hands before eating or drinking in warm water or hand sanitiser

 Now London is in Tier 4 

LBCV will be following Government guidelines for volunteering which permit volunteering in a Tier 4 location

In tier 4 areas, people must volunteer from home unless it is not reasonably possible for them to do so.

People can volunteer outside their home, including within a workplace, if:

  • they are unable to volunteer from home
  • they donโ€™t need to self-isolate
  • they follow social distancing guidance, or COVID-secure guidance if volunteering in a workplace
  • their workplace has not been ordered to close, if the role takes place within a workplace
  • In tier 4 areas, clinically extremely vulnerable people can volunteer from home. They are strongly advised not to volunteer outside their home.
  • It should always be a volunteerโ€™s personal choice whether they wish to volunteer, including outside their home. A volunteer should not be compelled to volunteer outside their home by their organisation or group.

Volunteers who meet in groups or with others from outside their household or support bubble should be especially careful to follow social distancing guidance, or COVID-secure guidelines if volunteering in a workplace, and observe the following key behaviours:

  • HANDS โ€“ Wash your hands regularly and for 20 seconds.
  • FACE โ€“ Wear a face covering in indoor settings where social distancing may be difficult, and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet.
  • SPACE โ€“ Stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place (such as wearing face coverings or increasing ventilation indoors).

Travelling to volunteer or while volunteering

Where they are unable to volunteer from home, people can travel to volunteer or while volunteering in England, including between local restriction tiers. Across all tiers, they should:

  • where possible, stay local, and only travel into or out of a tier 3 or 4 area if absolutely necessary
  • walk or cycle if they can โ€“ where that is not possible, use public transport or drive
  • plan ahead and avoid the busiest routes, as well as busy times

Construction and other outdoor work โ€“ Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) โ€“ Guidance โ€“ GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

More task details in the task reminder email, after the site visit.

 

Decemeber 2020 Task




All are welcome to join us and no experience is required. If You are curious about what happens on a LBCV task, one of our regular volunteers did the following live video on October’s task

 

Please wear appropriate clothing for the weather and stout footwear,  for the task . We will be working in an area with bramble and nettles, so closed shoes/boots and long trousers and sleeves would be best. 
 

Join Us

Please turn up at the Waterworks so we can provide enough tools and gloves. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MEET US on site where ever it may be this month ! 

Everybody is welcome to volunteer with LBCV. No experience is required. LBCV will provide tools, training, gloves, hand sanitiser, tea, coffee and biscuits. 

Please bring some lunch. Please wear sturdy footwear(see above) and appropriate clothing for the work and weather. It is due to be cold on Sunday morning the task will go ahead. 

Please arrive from 9:30am onwards at the Waterworks Centre Lammas Road, off Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, London E10 7QT, for a 10am visit to our tool storage area. The meeting place is the bike racks in front of former golf centre across from the former Greyhound Public House on Lea Bridge Road. We will leave at 10:05am for a walk to the task site with tools. 

Please note LBCV’s mobile number is not operational at the moment while we wait for a new SIM to arrive, please email if you have any questions. 

Volunteer with LVRPA

If any LBCV volunteer would like to volunteer directly with Lee Valley Regional Park Authority 

https://www.visitleevalley.org.uk/en/content/cms/corporate/volunteers/how-to-become-a-volunteer/

Farewell

Doing a conservation task with LBCV is great way to meet new people, learn new skills, use old skills, be more active, get closer to nature, make a difference and have some fun with likeminded people.


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January 2021 Task

UPDATE: Post task was planting a hedge to protect the tree planting 183 whips were planted and mulched by 9 volunteers while maintaining social distance !

the 2 volunteers in the middle are from the same household !

Sunday 3 January 2021. Nature conservation task at the Waterworks Nature Reserve. All welcome, no experience needed.

Please dress warm for the weather in layers

LBCV will be following Government guidelines for volunteering which permit volunteering in a Tier 4 location

In tier 4 areas, people must volunteer from home unless it is not reasonably possible for them to do so.

People can volunteer outside their home, including within a workplace, if:

  • they are unable to volunteer from home
  • they donโ€™t need to self-isolate
  • they follow social distancing guidance, or COVID-secure guidance if volunteering in a workplace
  • their workplace has not been ordered to close, if the role takes place within a workplace
  • In tier 4 areas, clinically extremely vulnerable people can volunteer from home. They are strongly advised not to volunteer outside their home.
  • It should always be a volunteerโ€™s personal choice whether they wish to volunteer, including outside their home. A volunteer should not be compelled to volunteer outside their home by their organisation or group.

Volunteers who meet in groups or with others from outside their household or support bubble should be especially careful to follow social distancing guidance, or COVID-secure guidelines if volunteering in a workplace, and observe the following key behaviours:

  • HANDS – Wash your hands regularly and for 20 seconds.
  • FACE – Wear a face covering in indoor settings where social distancing may be difficult, and where you will come into contact with people you do not normally meet.
  • SPACE – Stay 2 metres apart from people you do not live with where possible, or 1 metre with extra precautions in place (such as wearing face coverings or increasing ventilation indoors).

Travelling to volunteer or while volunteering

Where they are unable to volunteer from home, people can travel to volunteer or while volunteering in England, including between local restriction tiers. Across all tiers, they should:

  • where possible, stay local, and only travel into or out of a tier 3 or 4 area if absolutely necessary
  • walk or cycle if they can โ€“ where that is not possible, use public transport or drive
  • plan ahead and avoid the busiest routes, as well as busy times

Construction and other outdoor work – Working safely during coronavirus (COVID-19) – Guidance – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

More task details in the task reminder email, after the site visit.

December 2020 Task

Somewhere on Walthamstow Marshes Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers will be doing a nature conservation task, all welcome see task reminder email for more details, subribe below

Any questions please email as our mobile number is out of action waiting for a new SIM card.

Decemeber’sย 2020 task involved planting 153 tree whips from a possible 300+ tree whips, to create a new hedge.ย  ย Locally felled trees were already chipped by the rangers and used as a mulch to protect the saplings from competition from weeds and retain moisture in the soil and protect the young root systems from frosts. See photo montage

November 2020 task

Novemeber 2020 task

This is the fifth conservation task since the COVID-19 Pandemic lockdown. LVRPA had stopped all volunteer activity for the volunteers’ and staff’s safety and wellbeing. Now some restrictions have lifted LBCV are able to run volunteer tasks in the Lea Valley Park, but with restrictions.

  • We cannot generally advertise the tasks apart from emailing those signed up to this task reminder email 
  • If you are ill, feel ill or have been in contact with somebody who is self-isolating please do not volunteer
  • Do not use public transport to travel to the task. 
  • Please wash your hands before the task in warm water or hand sanitiser.
  • Use gloves when handling all tools, touching gates or other items in the park
  • Do not share tools.
  • Work parties of no more than 6 people – LBCV can have multiple work parties on a task
  • Please maintain a social distance of at least 1m if 2m is not possible
  • Wash your hands before eating or drinking in warm water or hand sanitiser

On Sunday 1st November 2020 Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers will be coppicing in Horseshoe Thicket on Walthamstow Marsh.

This woodland management task will involve coppicing trees, which will use the 4 cut felling method, snedding and brashing. The wood will be chipped by the rangers and used to make the paths through the thicket usable in the winter. The larger wood pieces will be used to build habitat piles, which increases the biodiversity of this urban woodland by becoming lying deadwood ecosystems. 


Traditionally coppiced wood would be used in green woodworking by bodgers to make spoons, bowls, chairs etc. See below, if you would like to learn green woodworking in East London.



All are welcome to join us and no experience is required. If You are curious about what happens on a LBCV task, one of our regular volunteers did the following live video on October’s task

 

Please wear appropriate clothing and stout footwear for the task and weather. We will be working in an area with bramble and nettles, so closed shoes/boots and long trousers and sleeves would be best. Kneeling will also be required so if you have knee pads please bring them.

 

Task – Exec Brief

On Sunday 1 November 2020, LBCV will be helping to manage Horseshoe Thicket on Walthamstow Marshes 

Join Us

Everybody is welcome to volunteer with LBCV. No experience is required. LBCV will provide tools, training, gloves, hand sanitiser, tea, coffee and biscuits. 

Please bring some lunch. Please wear sturdy footwear and appropriate clothing for the work and weather. It is due to rain Sunday morning the task will go ahead. 

Please arrive from 9:30am onwards at the Waterworks Centre Lammas Road, off Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, London E10 7QT, for a 10am visit to our tool storage area. The meeting place is the bike racks in front of former golf centre across from the former Greyhound Public House on Lea Bridge Road. We will leave at 10:05am for a walk to the task site. 

Volunteer with LVRPA

If any LBCV volunteer would like to volunteer directly with Lee Valley Regional Park Authority