Change? Can London Retain Its Wild?

all change? can London retain its wild?

engaging, listening, learning getting stuck in 1574 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation

legislation, strategy, guidance

1939 - 8,615,000

1981 - 6,607,000

2030 –10,000,000 809,000 homes required to clear the backlog and meet growing demand >100,000 new homes a year by 2021

London Councils, 2013 from green… …to grey 2.5 X Hyde Parks a year (1998-9 – 2006-07)

what bird is that? 217 Tyneside children, 7-16, 2000-01

• robin 100%, blackbird 50%, house sparrow <10%, curlew/oystercatcher/goldfinch 0%

• birds in cartoons, christmas cards, TV, film and nursery rhymes

• generational link broken; parents & teachers not taken into the natural world as children in turn not taking out children “it looks like an owl from here”

“oh my God, what is that?” easy-peasy ah, yes, let me see... what the...? you don’t say... “producing a public that is environmentally illiterate.”

nature deficit disorder value of nature (monetisation) • The Economics of Ecosystems & Biodiversity • National Ecosystem Assessment • ecosystem services • green infrastructure to deliver ecosystem services • biodiversity offsetting residual damage

hoverfly cross-boundary aspirations • Catchment Management Plans and partnerships (e.g. Crane, Brent) • Regional parks (Colne, Lee Valley), NIAs (Greater Thames Marshes, Lea Valley Catchment), Living Landscapes and Futurescapes • All London Green Grid • National Park City proposal

Walthamstow Wetlands species • pollinators • new horticultural fashions • non-native invasives • plant pathogens • citizen science and volunteer recording (e.g. London Flora)

red swamp crayfish resources and skills • public funding under severe pressure • skills declining (esp land management) • high level of lottery support likely to continue • significant gains through landfill tax credits; likely to change • corporate CSR commitments growing, but still minor • support for NGOs (members, donors) under pressure • overall pressures increasing competition within and without the sector

Saltbox Hill SSSI localism • many motivated site-based support groups • explosion of local urban-rusticism activity (e.g. bee-keeping, guerrilla gardening, art installations); new players and audiences • old frameworks increasingly ignored by local activity • continuing volunteer recording, aided by technology • changing nature of volunteering

Cremorne Gardens health & wellbeing • growing evidence base to support mental and physical well-being benefits of natural world • programmes such as Natural Fit, Sowing the Seeds, Go Wild Stay Well, Budding Together • coalescence of organisations around these issues • Nature & Wellbeing Act?

Wild London Inclusive London seek and you shall find concrete jungles dog-shit deserts natural estates

landscapes of resilience landscapes of beauty future wild city thank you mathew frith [email protected]

@WildLondon