Wild ways to help nature
In April, the council announced its emerging nature recovery programme to support the borough’s wildlife and biodiversity thrive long into the future.
Now, this vision is taking shape with a range of initiatives underway, including Waltham Forest ‘Wildways’ an ambitious £75,000 project to support our precious pollinators and improve green spaces in the borough.
Queens Road Cemetery and St James Park and Cheshire Fields Allotments in Walthamstow have all seen a range of nature-friendly measures introduced, from climate resilient planting and wildflower meadow to bee-friendly nesting posts, banks and paths. This is now benefitting not only pollinators, but other species like birds, mammals, butterflies.
Cllr Clyde Loakes MBE, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate and Air Quality explains more: “This project is benefitting our biodiversity, wildlife and local communities, and we can already see the results.
“As part of the Wildways project, we’ve depaved and replanted 160m2 of residents’ space, delivered £15,000 into community and volunteer organisations, provided educational activities for more than 150 people and supported a number of households depave their own front gardens.
“We have taken a hyperlocal approach, and I want to thank residents and local groups who have worked hard to shape this project. There is a nature emergency and our ambitious recovery programme, along with the hard work of local people is going to ensure we protect our vital biodiversity and wildlife.”
Creating habitats and improving green spaces is only part of Wildways. Over at the Grange Estate in St James Street, a project to depave part of the estate and introduce beautiful flowerbeds has benefitted not only nature, but the local community. Local volunteers, known as the Grange Growers, have shaped the project from the start.
Grange Grower Shan explains: “We have been planting vegetable beds and flowers to make the environment better for residents and also for bees and bugs – creating a more diverse habitat and making space for pollinators.
“I’ve been involved in growing for a while but never as close to home as this. It’s made me feel more engaged in where I live than for a long time. You can get involved and get skills in your community without going too far.”
Everyone has the chance to make a difference and support nature on their doorstep. Here are some top tips you can try at home:
- Think twice before mowing your lawn – can you leave it a little longer?
- No garden? No problem. There are lots of community gardens across Waltham Forest you could work on alongside your neighbours.
- Create a bee hotel for pollinators to nest in - its’ a box stuffed full of different-sized bamboo tubes.
- In hot weather, leave out a bowl or tray filled with gravel and water, which can provide thirsty bees with a drink.
- Grow pollinator-friendly plants like lavender, wallflowers and heather if you have a garden or balcony.
Find out more information on our top tips for helping our bees page