We’re very happy to share with you some exciting news! The charity Gasworks Dock Partnership has been awarded £1,022,500 by the Green Recovery Challenge Fund to deliver an ambitious program of citizen led ecology surveys, clean-ups, restoration and habitat creation for this little known corner of East London that is home to the tidal River Lea.
10th December 2020 – Our team at Cody Dock celebrating the news!
Whilst the Lee Valley Park stretching from Hertfordshire down to the Olympic Park in Stratford is known and enjoyed by millions of visitors every year, much of the last 2km stretch of tidal river has been locked off behind a curtain of post industrial brownfield sites that missed our on successive previous waves of regeneration that has resulted in a forgotten oasis for wildlife. With the imminent development of over 50,000 new homes, schools and major infrastructure projects set for this area over the next 10 years this funding will not only facilitate the documentation of this unusual wildlife corridor but also implement a program of community lead clean-ups and habitat creation that safeguard its wildlife and put London’s second river firmly on the map.
This funding will directly support over 20 new jobs and create hundreds of training, intern and apprenticeship opportunities across a wide range of disciplines: construction, wildlife and habitat conservation, citizen science, heritage conservation, hospitality.
“In addition to all the jobs, training opportunities and physical difference this funded project will make to the Lower Lea’s wildlife habitats, I think one of the most exciting aspects of this project is its citizen science element and the capacity we will have to enable 1000’s of local residents and volunteers to help play a pivotal part in preserving and nurturing this important wildlife corridor, which will in turn help to generate a much needed sense of place for the thousands of people who are already living in or thinking about moving into this area”
Simon Myers, GDP CEO
“The lower Lea valley, forgotten for so long, is home to an increasing diversity of wildlife. It connects the Thames to the Lea valley and Epping Forest, and as an ecosystem provides a transitional habitat for wildlife and a unique corridor for the community to access these valuable amenities.”
Ben Bishop, GDP Citizen Science and Environment Manager
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