Water levels in Wanstead Park reach alarmingly low levels

Wanstead Park is a fascinating place to visit, as thousands have found out over the months of lockdown. There are always new natural developments to see. Recently, I made a new discovery, walking along the road side of the Shoulder of Mutton pond -an area of young oak trees. Most have grown up in the last 20 years, extending the fantastic tree cover in the forest. Rewilding has become popular over recent times but has been a way of life across much of Epping Forest for some time. The latest exciting development will see cattle re-introduced to the park. Something though of ongoing concern is the state of the lakes. The water levels have been declining for many years now. The five lake system, when created, saw each supplying the other thereby keeping the water levels constant. So the Basin on the golf course should flow into the Shoulder of Mutton, which then fills the Heronry, which goes onto the Perch pond before the final stretch through the Dell into the Ornamental lake. Over the years, the system has broken down. The Heronry and Ornamental both leak. The link between the Shoulder of Mutton and Heronry is at best problemmatic. Over recent years, it has only been via a licence with the Environment Agency to pump water from the bore hole near the tea hut that the levels have kept up at all. The priority being to keep up the levels in the Heronry. Recently, the dry spell has seen tne lakes dry out to unprecedented levels. It seems incredible that only eight months ago the banks of the Roding were breached and the area flooded. The lakes were then brimfull. It is though the flood risk that most concerns the park's custodians, the City of London Corporation, and the Environment Agency (EA), The latter have declared there to be a significant flood risk, which the Corporation are statutorily bound to address. The flood prevention plan is duly moving ahead at a cost of in excess of £10 million. It is hoped that this together with the Park Plan will address some of the water issues.This work though is not due to start for several years. In terms of the situation with the lakes, there seem to be a number of options, The first would be to restore the original structure, addressing leaks in lakes and blockages on flow routes. This though, would be very expensive, so is unlikely. Another possibility would involve some interchange with the River Roding. River levels are rising with the advance of climate change. The EA already have a scheme on the drawing board to prevent flooding from the Roding. Surely, Wanstead Park could become a safety valve, whereby some links could be put in, allowing water to over run into the Ornamental and other lakes at times of excess flows. Beyond such crisis times, there could be agreement for some refill of the lakes from the Roding as an ongoing process. There used to be an exchange via the old pumping station, though this now stands redundant. Some of these ideas may already be under consideration, as part of flood planning. Let's hope so. What is for sure is that the situation with the lakes in Wanstead Park and the relationship with the River Roding needs addressing. The present sticking plaster approach can only last for so long and recent months have shown some of those plasters are beginning to come off.

Discovering new places and ways in lockdown

The long days of lockdown offered the chance to get out, discovering new routes and places to go locally. On the cycle, one of my favourite rides involved following the River Roding, from the point at Charlie Brown’s roundabout, through the Roding Valley Park, across Redbridge roundabout and along on the opposite side to Wanstead Park. The route then cuts in, through the exchange lands and alongside the City of London cemetery fence. The option then is to cut right with the rail line on one side and the cemetery on the other, up to the Rabbits or come round the longer way going along the Romford Road. A beautiful route, with the winding Roding, punctuated along its banks with features like the Community Orchard in Roding Valley Park. A great place for blackberry picking. Another scenic route involves cycling through Wanstead Park, out onto Wanstead Park Road, then cutting up to Cranbrook Road and into Valentines Park. In one side, and out the other, before cutting through the side roads on the way over to Fairlop Water. A fantastic place to cycle and watch the wildlife. A very popular spot during lockdown. If feeling energetic the next stretch takes you round to Hainault Forest, with its classic trees. Then back through Chigwell to Wanstead. Enroute it was fascinating to see people developing their own entertainment. In Wanstead Park, there was the sight of makeshift swings going up in different locations – a popular one was at the top end of the Ornamental Lake, which saw groups of youngsters waiting to swing out over the Roding. The area known as the beach on the Roding (at the other end of the Ornamental) was another popular spot. Parents and children crowded onto the gravelly area, where the Roding dribbles past. Some days there were more than 40 people gathered (all socially spaced ofcourse) on this small idyllic space. On another trip over to Walthamstow Wetlands, people massed on the banks and in the River Lea. This came as a real surprise, one day cycling along the path that runs parallel to the football pitches on Hackney Marshes, with the Lea on the right – suddenly there were people all over the banks and in the water. Just in one short stretch of water up from the bridge that goes over into Walthamstow Marsh. A real case of people finding their own entertainment. Go in the opposite direction along the canal, through the Olympic Park and you finish up at Three Mills – the site of many a film shooting. River mullet can be seen down in the water. It is a short winding cycle from there up onto the Greenway and past the Abbey Mills pumping station back to the Olympic Park and past the stadium. It was great over these months to see people out, relaxing, enjoying nature and trying to get away from the trauma of the pandemic. The numbers have gone down now, as the lockdown has relaxed, people have got back to work and gone away on holiday but what is for sure is that new ways and places were discovered during these times that should enrich life going forward.

Time to bring the Active Travel revolution to Redbridge

The news that the goverment is to push active travel, getting more people cycling and walking is most welcome. The new plans will see an initial £2 billion put behind the plans, which will see an Active Travel Commissioner appointed, with powers similar to the Ofsted inspectorate in education. This crucially will see funding provided or denied in accordance with the degree to which local authority's plans comply with the active travel ethos. So there will be no funding for the pitiful painted cycle lanes, which see a line drawn a couple of feet from the gutter. In order to get the funding local authorities, will have to create properly segregated cycle lanes that cut the cyclists off from the traffic in a safe zone. The momentum behind the plans is unprecedented, with pressure for people to get on their bike or walk in order to take pressure off public transport in the present Covid dominated environment. There is also pressure to get more active in order to combat obesity. Obesity levels in the UK have neen steadily rising, as people lead more sedentary existences, with more and more of life revolving around phones and laptops. Obesity levels in Redbriidge are alarming, so the pressure to get people out walking and cyclng is all the greater. Fewer vehicles means less pollution, more active travel means fitter healthy human beings - it is a win win. Some boroughs are further advanced with active travel than others. In Waltham Forest, there is the mini-hollands scheme, with segregated cycle lanes, cycle hangars on the streets and at stations. The idea is to force the traffic off the side roads onto the main arteries. Cycling also becomes a means to get to work, people being able to cycle to stations where they can lock their cycles up securely in the hangars, Car use has dropped dramatically. Other, London boroughs have also made great strides, with Camden, Islington and Newham all coming to mind. In Redbridge, there is a long way to go but the present consultation on Quieter Streets is intended to kick start the move toward active travel here. There are though some simple improvements that could be easily made to existing infrastructure. There have been calls from Redbridge cyclists to improve cycle routes in Wanstead Park. Two suggestions are to allow cyclists to use the direct route between Warren Road and Wanstead Park Avenue (the best route for cycling) and for the cycle route between the Exchange land and Aldersbrook lane adjoining Ilford Hill to be cleared. The first change is in the gift of the Corporation of London. The second route is on Corporation land but under the stewardship of Redbridge Council. There are other off road options in Wanstead but these should get picked up in the Quieter Streets process. There is much than needs to be done in Redbridge to bring about the active travel revolution but given the will it is achievable. The lockdown period, showed the appetite there is amongst the population to walk and cycle more, what is needed now is the means to make that desire for safe active travel a reality. The government seem keen to promote such change, now we need to make it happen on the ground.

Civil liberties must npot be sacrificed at times of emergency

Every dictator down the ages has offered security in return for people's liberties. These were the words of the former Chief Constable of Devon and Cornwall, John Alderson in an interview I did with him a few years ago. His wise words have come back many times down the years, never more so than in the present pandemic situation. The move of the government to impose a lockdown across the country for three months was unprecedented. The messaging was simple -stay at home and protect the NHS. On the whole people were very compliant, most following the guidance to the letter.Some (or should that be one) in government took a different line but that is for another day. The lockdown began to lift in June as the country gradually returned to something like normality. People were scared by Covid - and rightly so. The constant quoting of the daily death total in the media helped heighten that fear. It made people stay at home. Fear though is a dangerous thing. As former US President Franklin D Roosevelt said: there is nothing to fear but fear itself. The lockdown is a blunt instrument made necessary by the danger that the NHS would be overun. A number of scientists have said that locking down earlier would have saved lives. Also, that the halt on community testing on 12 March limited the ability to deal with the pandemic. Testing and tracing are clearly key to controlling the spread of Covid. What has been strange is the clamour of some, often born out of fear, to restrict people's actions. The call to reimpose lockdown, the call for severe penalties against those getting too close together, making people wear masks wherever they go. The desire to just stop others doing things. These are all severe infringements on individual liberties and need to be carefully weighed in terms of the common good. The clamour often originates from people's own insecurities and anxieties at being locked down for months on end. The government have tried to weigh up these questions, though sometimes appearing to face one way - as with wearing masks - only to then do a u turn on the original decision. What is clear is that the questions of liberties and securities must be weighed at every turn. Measures like lockdowns are only justified in situations like a major health emergency to stop the NHS being overun. They are not justified as a means of keeping public order. When things finally return to sonething like normal, the human rights of all citizens should be fully restored and enhanced, not reduced permanently at the behest of those who see the possibility of using a crisis to justify the sacrifice of rights on rhe altar of security. published - 6/8/2020 - Wanstead & Woodford Guardian

Lions led by donkeys - what has happened in the eight years since the London Olympics opening ceremony

What a difference eight years makes? That was the thought following a recent visit to the London Stadium to report on the West Ham v Watford football match.

 

No fans in the ground, an eerie atmosphere, with the players shouts and the journalists commentaries the only things breaking the silence.

What a contrast to the 2012 London Olympics, when the same stadium played host to the opening ceremony. It was one of those strange quirks of fate that a re-run of that ceremony was on the TV, the same night as the football match.

The opening ceremony was a masterpiece from film director Danny Boyle and his team, showing the many different aspects of the UK. There was the history of the industrial revolution, the factory towers reaching up into the night sky, the tribute to the NHS and the Windrush generation.

Then, Prime Minister David Cameron. enjoyed the experience, as did then Mayor of London Boris Johnson.  Who would have thought then that eight years later the man, who dangled precariously from a zip wire, would later become Prime Minister?

Few would have thought that many of the same ministers, who sat in the stadium that night would oversee the disgraceful hostile environment policy directed at the Windrush generation.

London was a multicultural joy for those few weeks of the Olympics. People from across the world came in to watch and compete at the games. No racist divisions, just a celebration of the great sporting event that is the Olympics.

So what else has happened since that time? Well, then Prime Minister Cameron gave out his first referendum to Scotland. Two years later, the Scots narrowly rejected the idea of breaking away from the Union. A year after that, the fateful EU referendum took place, splitting the country in two. The remain side, ineffectively led by Cameron, lost. He resigned, to be replaced by the architect of the hostile environment Theresa May. Three more painful and embarassing years passed, as May repeatedly brought her exit deal to Parliament and saw it rejected.

Finally, the  man from the zip wire became Prime Minister. He illegally prorogued Parliament, before going to the country with his message to get Brexit done. He won an 80 seat majority to carry out that policy. The UK exited the EU on 31 January, staring into the abyss of international isolation.

The Scottish National Party want another referendum, given extra impetus by the fact that Scotland voted to stay in the EU.

Ireland too is edging toward unity, courtesy of Brexit – something that 30 years of conflict failed to achieve.

The Conservative and Unionist Party certainly needs a remake, it has done more to split the Union than any previous party.

Then, along came the Corona virus pandemic. The government was slow to react to the impending crisis. It failed to prepare, getting the required Personal Protection Equipment in place, especially for the NHS and Care workers. It also failed to get the test and trace system up and running in time to get a  grips on where and how the pandemic was developing.

The NHS workers celebrated back in 2012, once again rose heroically to the challenge, many giving their own lives to save others. Care workers similarly rose to the challenge. And many others, from the emergency services to retail staff went above and beyond to keep us all safe. The response of the people to the challenge of the pandemic was indeed another of our finest hours.

Looking back though, it is difficult not to see the last decade as a case of lions led by donkeys – a phrase first adopted in relation to the inept leading officers of the First World War.

The record is damning, those who sat grinning out on that warm July evening of the opening ceremony of the London Olympics have a lot to answer for regarding their stewardship – where there was once harmony, they have sown disunity, discord and division.

Let’s hope that something positive can come out of the tragedy of this pandemic – some responsible leadership that rewards those who have contributed most to the common good. Some leadership that brings unity not division to our land. We certainly all deserve better than the past eight years has produced.

Ps: The return of the fans to that stadium would also be welcome.

Charity can never replace justice

There has been a tremendous outpouring of generosity over the period of the Covid pandemic.

At the beginning, there were the mutual aid groups set up to help those becalmed at home, unable to obtain things like prescriptions and shopping.

Then there was the tin in a bin initiative to support foodbanks. The amount given over this period has been overwhelming.

There have been charitable acts right across the community.

The homeless have been taken off the streets and put into accomodation.

Moving forward, we must ensure this generoaity of spirit in the community continues to be harnessed for the goodness of all.

However, what must not happen is for charity to replace the basic rights of people to justice.

So in a country of 150 plus billionaires why do a million plus go to foodbanks (and this was before the pandemic)?

Why, when there are thousands of empty houses do people struggle to survive on the street and elsewhere?

Why do levels of child poverty continue to grow in the fifth richest economy in the world?

These are fundamental questions, that reveal a badly run society with skewed values.

Some years ago, David Cameron's Coalition government promoted the idea of a Big Society. Central to the idea seemed to be people volunteering to do work that had previously been done by paid workers. The idea was dressed up as something else, aimed at the common good but in reality it wasn't.
The Big Society sought to use peoples charitable instincts as a vehicle to cut services. The idea of the deserving and undeserving poor began to develop. This can never be allowed to happen because in the end it leads to the workhouse of the nineteenth century.

It is great that people support foodbanks but in such a rich country it is a disgrace that the whole structure is required at all. Better a fully funded welfare state, where people have support as of right, not on the basis of someone elses charitable instinct to give.

So, yes, let's celebrate the incredible acts of generosity but don't let those acts obscure the fact that we live in a grotesquely unequal society, entirely of our own making - and that needs to change in the post pandemic world.

published - Wanstead and Woodford Guardian - 23/7/2020

"Wilding" by Isabella Tree

Published by Picador Price £9.99

This fascinating book really opens up huge possibilities for improving biodiversity and countering climate change.

Tree tells how together with husband Charlie Burrell they rewild the Knepp estate in West Sussex.

Prior to 2000, they had traditionally farmed the 3,500 acres of the estate. It wasn't working so they looked for something new. 

The work of Dr Frans Vera with rewilding in the Netherlands drew their attention.

The idea was in a way to turn back time to before humans brought their pesticides and fertilisers to the land. Effectively returning  to before the destruction and poisoning of the world began.

If some of the original breeds of animals were restored and allowed to run wild, other habitats also changed for the better.

So long horned cattle, Tamworth pigs, Dartmoor ponies, red and fallow deer were all introduced.

The effects were dramatic, bringing back purple emperor butterflies, nightingales and turtle doves. The land became resilient. 

Really understanding rewilding probably requires the human being to take a step back from its arrogant dominant role in the world.

The human needs to realise that many creatures live the way they do as an adaption to the behaviour of humans, it was not always so.  If the humans can now let go, then nature can restore.

There are so many interesting parts to this book, such as how the introduction of beavers in some areas of the country has helped counter flooding. Also, how allowing the land to go to wetlands also releases pressure and so flood risk.

An interesting aside is how this is happening in the Netherlands, where the renown canals are full to bursting. Climate change means greater volumes of water are falling on the land. So the Dutch are looking to release pressure by turning areas to wetlands, rather than building dykes.

Another fascinating view concerns how more carbon can be stored in the land.

Tree reveals that there are 1500 billion tonnes of carbon in the form of organic material in world soils. Increasing this by 0.4% a year -through restoring and improving degraded agricultural lands - would halt the rise of CO2 in the atmosphere. 

Tree suggests agricultural land could be taken in and out of rewilding over decades to restore it.

Wilding is a real eye opener as to what could happen with a little imagination - a sort of resetting of the natural paramaters, that wiil then revive and restore the ecological framework around us.