On Sunday 4th January 2026, at the Waterworks Nature Reserve, off Lea Bridge Road, and will involve removing vegetation – including trees and bramble to improve the access between Beds 23 and 24.

The task will reclaim the areas from the encroaching scrub. Recent plant sightings at the nature reserve have included the unusual broomrape (Orobanche L.) which is a parasitic plant that has no chlorophyll and relies on its host for nutrients and water.

Recently bird sightings have included blackcaps, firecrests, bullfinches, treecreepers and common snipe in the nature reserve.

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 the October 2020 task

Please wear appropriate clothing which is long sleeves and trousers NO SHORTS as we are handling buck/blackthorne aka sloe bushes and wear 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 may also be required so if you have knee pads please bring them.

On Sunday 7th December 2025 Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers will be coppicing in Horseshoe Thicket on Walthamstow Marshes.

This month’s task will involve coppicing trees. This ancient woodland management technique will involve the use of the 4-cut felling method, shedding, brashing and dead hedging. The brash wood will be used to create dead hedges to control access to the regrowth area. The larger wood pieces will be used to build habitat piles, which increases the biodiversity of this urban woodland by becoming lying deadwood ecosystems. No experience is required; training will be provided.

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(18+) 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 2020 task

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

On Sunday 2nd November 2025, LBCV will be working around the pond in Bed 24 at the end of the broadwalk in the Waterworks Nature Reserve. This work is the start of reviving the pond’s ecosystem from the encroaching vegetation.

To join us, meet at the Waterworks Centre, Lammas Road from 9:30am – 10am.

Conservation Task Details
The aim of the task is to remove bramble and other woody tree growth by slashing it and cutting it down, to maintain the area as an open pond habitat and remove competition for the planted saplings and ground flora.

While doing the task we need to be cautious as the pond was built using a liner. The pond was constructed to provide a place to relocate the newts from the London Olympic site.

On Sunday 5th October 2025, LBCV will be working alongside the ditch on Walthamstow Marshes to remove willow and other tree growth in this SSSI Nature Reserve to maintain it as a marsh environment. 

To join us, meet at the Waterworks Centre, Lammas Road from 9:30am – 10am. 

Conservation Task Details

The aim of the task is to remove willow and other woody tree growth by cutting it down, to maintain the area as a marshland habitat. 

While doing the task we need to be cautious as the ditch contains the invasive azolla, mosquito fern, duckweed fern and we must take precautions to stop it spread to other parts of the ditch and nearby waterbodies.

Sunday 6th July 2025, Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers will be doing a task at the Waterworks Nature Reserve.

All (18+) are welcome to join us

On Sunday 4th May 2025, Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers will be doing a nature conservation task in the Waterworks Nature Reserve. The task will involve removing light vegetation from a shingle bank to create an invertebrate and reptile basking area.

Why are we creating a basking area? Well, many species of bee, solitary wasp, spider and beetle are dependent on bare ground to hunt and nest because these areas provide the necessary warm micro-climate and easy tunnelling. However, bare ground does not remain bare for a long time as vegetation colonises and soon the bare ground is lost. The shingle bank created from the spoils of the recent ponds created an open bare ground. on the filter bed wall.

More details and task reminder after the site visit closer to the date.

On Sunday 6th April LBCV will be doing invasive species management on Leyton Marsh and near Ox-bow island.

More details and task reminder after the site visit closer to the date.

On Sunday, 2nd March 2025, the Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers will be at Walthamstow Marshes conducting a Bramble bash and scrub control to preserve the marsh as a wetland habitat, not a scrubland.

On Sunday, 2nd February 2025, the Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers will engage in activities at the WaterWorks Nature Reserve, performing bed wall clearance and preserving the architectural legacy of this naturally reclaimed industrial site.