Tag Archives: East London

Tasks

April 2024 Nature Conservation Task #2

###UPDATE 6th April 2024

The scrape is too wet to be worked in so the task has changed to bed wall clearance at the Waterworks Nature Reserve ####

On Sunday 7th April 2024 LBCV is due to be working in the scrape on Walthamstow Marshes. This task will aid the Creeping Marshwort Helosciaidum repens. This location in Walthamstow Marshes Nature Reserve is one of only three in the UK that Creeping Marshwort can be found. Creeping Marshwort is currently listed as Endangered in the Red Data Book for Great Britain. Threats include habitat loss, loss of grazing and lack of management.

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

All(18+) are welcome to join us and no experience is required. Please meet us at the Waterworks Centre 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.

LBCV Volunteers on Walthamstow Marshes with a rainbow

Working on the Marshes with a rainbow in the background


Join Us
Everybody(18+) 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.


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 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.

Tasks

April 2024 Nature Conservation Task

###UPDATE 6th April 2024

The scrape is too wet to be worked in so the task has changed to bed wall clearance at the Waterworks Nature Reserve ####

On Sunday 7th April 2024 LBCV is due to be working in the scrape on Walthamstow Marshes. This task will aid the Creeping Marshwort Helosciaidum repens. This location in Walthamstow Marshes Nature Reserve is one of only three in the UK that Creeping Marshwort can be found. Creeping Marshwort is currently listed as Endangered in the Red Data Book for Great Britain. Threats include habitat loss, loss of grazing and lack of management.

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

All(18+) are welcome to join us and no experience is required. Please meet us at the Waterworks Centre 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.

LBCV Volunteers on Walthamstow Marshes with a rainbow

Working on the Marshes with a rainbow in the background


Join Us
Everybody(18+) 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.


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 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.

Tasks

March 2024 Nature Conservation Task

LVRPA sign about ongoing enhanchment project on Ox Bow Island

On Sunday 3rd March 2024, LBCV will be doing a volunteer nature conservation task on Ox Bow Island near Waltamstow Marshes, in North East London We will be creating dead hedges and enhancing the ones already there to control access to the side of the island next to the swans’ nest. Everyone (18+) are welcome to join us, see below for the meeting place.

Swan nest on Ox Bow Lake March 2024
Swan nest on Ox Bow Lake March 2024

Subscribe to our nature conservation task reminder email

Please check your spam/junk folder for the confirmation email, for more details closer to the task date.

Volunteer with us, to do nature conservation!


Everyone(18+) is welcome to volunteer with Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers on any of our monthly first Sunday nature conservation task in North East London. Simply turn up at the Waterworks Nature Reserve by 10am on the Sunday morning in clothing and footwear suitable for the task and weather. If you use What Three Words ///guises.manage.entry is the location.

Grafitti figure on a tree on Ox Bow Island
Grafitti figure on a tree on Ox Bow Island
Tasks

February 2024 Conservation Task

On Sunday 4th February 2024 LBCV will doing a volunteer conservation task in the Waterworks Nature Reserve , we will be workng on the filterbed walls clearing scrub that is damaging the Victorian brickwork.

Subscribe to our task reminder email

Please check your spam/junk folder for the confirmation email, for more information, closer to the task date.

Volunteer with us !


Everyone is welcome to volunteer with Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers on any of our monthly first Sunday nature conservation task in North East London. Simply turn up at the Waterworks Nature Reserve by 10am on the Sunday morning in clothing and footwear suitable for the task and weather. If you use What Three Words ///guises.manage.entry is the location.

nature reserve
Tasks

March 2022 nature conservation volunteering task

March 2022 Nature Conservation Task      
The Sunday 6th March 2022 nature task on is on Leyton Marsh and will involve a bramble bash from selected areas. The task will reclaim the open marsh or rather open meadow area from the encroaching scrub The task will also exposed the dormant soil seed bank.  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 handling bramble  and stout footwear for the task and weather. We will be working in an area with long grass and possibly nettles, 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 waterproof footwear and appropriate clothing for the work and weather. We will be working with brambles and nettles and sharp tools and the paths are wet at the moment.  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, touching gates or other items in the park Please maintain a social distance of at least 1m in the container. 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, including this one, as we are in an open nature reserve. We should be finished by 4pm. 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.  

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Tasks

February 2022 Nature Conservation Volunteering task

The nature task on Sunday 6th  February 2022 is at the Waterworks Nature Reserve, off Lea Bridge Road, and will involve some architectural heritage maintenance where we will be removing blackthorn and bramble from the filter bedwalls. We will also be removing vegetation from around the kingfisher bank.  The task will reclaim the bedwalls from the encroaching scrub and protect them from root damage. The task will also exposed the dormant soil seed bank. 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.  The task will increase the sizes of the many hibernaculum in the Waterworks Nature Reserve.  Recently bird sightings have included 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 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.

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KIngfisher Bank
Kingfisher bank Waterworks Nature Reserve LVRPA
Tasks

December 2021 nature conservation volunteering task

On Sunday 5th December 2021 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 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. 


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 2020 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 

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Coppiced Trees regrowth
Tasks

November 2021 nature conservation volunteering task

On Sunday 7 November 2021 Lea Bridge Conservation Volunteers will be doing scrub control with a bramble bash on Walthamstow Marshes.

Please meet us at the Waterworks Nature Reserve so we can provide you with gloves and tools.

All welcome, no experience necessary, just turn up. Please wear sturdy waterproof footwear.

If you use what three words ///guises.manage.entry is the location.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Tasks

June 2019 Conservation Task

On Sunday 2 June 2019, LBCV will be doing invasive species management on Walthamstow Marshes(SSSI). We will be removing Goat’s Rue from the North Marsh. Meet at the Waterworks Centre, Lemmas Road from 9:30am – 10am.

This is not a repeat of the May task as there was no goat’s rue to pull in May and we did scrape management instead.

Conservation Task Details

Walthamstow Marsh is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI, pronounced “triple S, I”) declared under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. Covering 55.4 Hectares (136.9 acres), it is part of a Green Flag Awarded Nature Reserve that also includes Coppermill Fields and Leyton Marsh. This Nature Reserve is a remnant of London’s once widespread river valley grasslands and is especially important for its plant and insect life containing a national rarity in creeping marshwort along with long-stalked orache, black poplar, brookweed, penny-royal, water vole, bats; soldier-flies, snail-killing flies, orthoptera, reed bunting, linnet and song thrush. The marshes are former Lammas lands, in that commoners had rights to graze there from 12 August to 6 April.

The aim of the task is to help keep the Marshes free from invasive species.

This year’s pulling of Goat’s Rues will be on North Marsh. Goat’s Rue is an invasive plant, that for several years LBCV was devoting a whole summer task to pulling on South Marsh. Any goat’s rue now on South March is dealt with by pulling on a walk through, so we are confident we are making a difference. 

Goats Rue is so called as it was given to nanny goats to increase their milk yield but it was found to be toxic to ruminants with the potential to induce a build-up of excess fluid in the lungs, low blood pressure, paralysis and death.

How is it invasive ? It is a non-native hardy perennial that forms dense crowns, each plant can produce over 15,000 seeds that remain viable for 10 to possibly 26 years.

Why remove ? Walthamstow Marshes are under Higher Level Stewardship in that they are being grazed by traditional bred cattle, Belted Galloways, so having goat’s rue growing where cattle are grazed is not ideal and the area is also surround by bridle paths so there is a need to control the goat’s rue in these areas.

Join Us

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

Please bring some lunch. Please wear sturdy footwear and appropriate clothing for the work and weather.  We can provide wellingtons in the morning but you must return them to the Waterworks Centre, after the task. So please arrive in plenty of time to select your pair.

Please arrive from 9:30am – 10am at the Waterworks Centre Lammas Road, off Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, London E10 7QT, for a 10am departure to the tools storage area. The meeting place is the former golf centre across from the former Greyhound Public House on Lea Bridge Road. We will leave at 10:15am for a walk to the task site. Volunteers are welcome to meet us on site, before the tools talk, please text 07757 766950, before 9am on Sunday, so we can provide enough tools and gloves.

Please lock bicycles to the stands in front of the Waterworks Centre. There is ample free car parking there too. Dogs are not allowed on the Nature Reserve so please do not cross the bridge with dogs or ride bicycles in the nature reserve. Dogs are welcome on some tasks, including this one, we just request that their owners wait with the LBCV catering team at the Waterworks Centre, while the tools are prepared.  If you think we are being draconian, please read this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6978272.stm

We should be finished by 3:30pm.

Future LBCV Tasks  – Complete Programme 2019-2020

All conservation tasks are the first Sunday of each month

July Waterworks Nature Reserve invasive species removal  
August Walthamstow Marshes Invasive species removal  
September Waterworks Nature Reserve reed bed management  
October Walthamstow Marshes Scrub management/ Willow removal along ditches  
November Walthamstow Marshes Scrub management/ Willow removal along ditches
December Walthamstow Marshes pollarding Horseshoe thicket  
January Waterworks Nature Reserve reptile and scrub management  
February Rammey Marshes Scrub management  
March Walthamstow Marshes Bramble bashing  

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 like minded people.

Tasks

May 2019 Conservation Task

After a very rare cancelled task in April, LBCV are back !

Update Saturday 4 May
A last minute change to the task, as the Goat’s Rue has not appeared on the North Marsh yet. Have we been able to eradicate it ? Find out next month, when this task will be rolled over. Task in May will be Scrape Management on South Marsh, so a double roll-over !

On Sunday 5 May 2019, LBCV will be doing invasive species management on Walthamstow Marshes(SSSI). We will be removing Goat’s Rue from the North Marsh. Meet at the Waterworks Centre, Lemmas Road from 9:30am – 10am.

Conservation Task Details

Walthamstow Marsh is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI, pronounced “triple S, I”) declared under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. Covering 55.4 Hectares (136.9 acres), it is part of a Green Flag Awarded Nature Reserve that also includes Coppermill Fields and Leyton Marsh. This Nature Reserve is a remnant of London’s once widespread river valley grasslands and is especially important for its plant and insect life containing a national rarity in creeping marshwort along with long-stalked orache, black poplar, brookweed, penny-royal, water vole, bats; soldier-flies, snail-killing flies, orthoptera, reed bunting, linnet and song thrush. The marshes are former Lammas lands, in that commoners had rights to graze there from 12 August to 6 April.

The aim of the task is to help keep the Marshes free from invasive species.

Goat’s Rue is an invasive plant that for several years LBCV was devoting a summer task to pulling on South Marsh. This year’s pulling of Goat’s Rues will be on North Marsh. Goats Rue is so called as it was given to nanny goats to increase their milk yield but it was found to be toxic to ruminants with the potential to induce a build-up of excess fluid in the lungs, low blood pressure, paralysis and death.

How is it invasive ? It is a non-native hardy perennial that forms dense crowns, each plant can produce over 15,000 seeds that remain viable for 10 to possibly 26 years.

Why remove ? Walthamstow Marshes are under Higher Level Stewardship in that they are being grazed by traditional bred cattle, Belted Galloways, so having goat’s rue growing where cattle are grazed is not ideal and the area is also surround by bridle paths so there is a need to control the goat’s rue in these areas.

Join Us

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

Please bring some lunch. Please wear sturdy footwear and appropriate clothing for the work and weather.  We can provide wellingtons in the morning but you must return them to the Waterworks Centre, after the task. So please arrive in plenty of time to select your pair.

Please arrive from 9:30am – 10am at the Waterworks Centre Lammas Road, off Lea Bridge Road, Leyton, London E10 7QT, for a 10am departure to the tools storage area. The meeting place is the former golf centre across from the former Greyhound Public House on Lea Bridge Road. We will leave at 10:15am for a walk to the task site. Volunteers are welcome to meet us on site, before the tools talk, please text 07757 766950, before 9am on Sunday, so we can provide enough tools and gloves.

Please lock bicycles to the stands in front of the Waterworks Centre. There is ample free car parking there too. Dogs are not allowed on the Nature Reserve so please do not cross the bridge with dogs or ride bicycles in the nature reserve. Dogs are welcome on some tasks, including this one, we just request that their owners wait with the LBCV catering team at the Waterworks Centre, while the tools are prepared.  If you think we are being draconian, please read this article http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6978272.stm

We should be finished by 3:30pm.

Future LBCV Tasks  – Complete Programme 2019-2020

All conservation tasks are the first Sunday of each month

June Walthamstow Marshes Scrape Management 
July Waterworks Nature Reserve invasive species removal  
August Walthamstow Marshes Invasive species removal  
September Waterworks Nature Reserve reed bed management  
October Walthamstow Marshes Scrub management/ Willow removal along ditches  
November Walthamstow Marshes Scrub management/ Willow removal along ditches
December Walthamstow Marshes pollarding Horseshoe thicket  
January Waterworks Nature Reserve reptile and scrub management  
February Rammey Marshes Scrub management  
March Walthamstow Marshes Bramble bashing