Dear readers, today I'm going to tell you about a little field trip I went on recently with my friend Elena. We visited Camley Street Natural Park this week, a natural gem right in the heart of King's Cross!
Personally, living in London has been a bit... hectic for me. As a Canadian who's lived in Ottawa, Ontario, for most of her life, I've spent a lot of time surrounded by nature. Taking a break from the city is something I've come to take for granted, from heading up to Gatineau Park just over the Quebec border for a relaxing afternoon to spending weeks in the Laurentians. So naturally, I've been feeling a bit wildlife-depleted since moving here in September.
Seeking to get my fill of nature, I came across the London Wildlife Trust and their Wildlife on your Waterways project for Central London. The project is based at Camley Street Natural Park, just behind King's Cross on Regent's Canal, and its goal is to protect wildlife along the city's waterways. Elena and I had our first volunteering induction session this week, and we had the opportunity to visit and learn about this fascinating nature reserve. It was a great success, and I'm happy to report that spending a morning at Camley Street Natural Park really does feel like leaving the big city. What's more is that inside the park I found something that is relevant to this blog: food!
Camley Street Natural Park is located on the site of an old coal yard and was created in 1984. The park, vastly changed from what it used to look like before its inception, now has pond, meadow, and woodland habitats. Walking through the park you can admire a wide variety of animals and plants, both native and non-native. The park is extremely popular, and is largely used as an educational site for children. I was very surprised to learn that this site is the first point of contact with nature for many children living in the urban core.
The main goal of the park being the protection of wildlife, I was happily surprised to learn that due to the growing popularity of the site and an increased demand for urban gardens, agricultural activities are now taking place here as well. As you can see in the photo below, the grounds are now also being used for growing food in the community. Gardens are interspersed around the site on raised beds due to the fact that the soil is contaminated from the industrial activities that used to occur here. The use of raised beds prevents the possibility of contaminants, such as heavy metals, of entering the food being grown.
What I found even more impressive is that the site is also home to a floating garden on the canal (photographed below). In previous posts on this blog, we covered topics such as food waste, where food comes from, and how agriculture came to be. I think this little bit of urban garden fits perfectly in this story - it shows us that even in a city as big as London, food can still be grown in a sustainable way that supports the community and the local environment. The site is also an excellent example of environmental change through time: what was once an abandoned contaminated site is now, as you can see, teeming with life.
What are the benefits of urban gardens such as these, you may ask? Studies have shown that the presence of these urban gardens has positive health and environmental impacts, including improved access to food, nutrition, and physical activity, as well as conservation benefits. Wakefield et al. and Goddard et al. respectively discuss these positive impacts in detail.
As I mentioned before, a big part of the project is the conservation of biological diversity along London's waterways. Why not head over to Elena's blog, Invasive Species Are Among Us, to find out about what we learnt on invasive species within the park? Her new post, entitled Invasives of Camley Street Nature Park, is a great read.
I'm leaving you with a video created by Greengage Films and Environment Films on a typical day in the life of Camley Street Natural Park. Follow the link on the photo below to access the video on Vimeo. Thanks for reading, and have a great Sunday!
Seeking to get my fill of nature, I came across the London Wildlife Trust and their Wildlife on your Waterways project for Central London. The project is based at Camley Street Natural Park, just behind King's Cross on Regent's Canal, and its goal is to protect wildlife along the city's waterways. Elena and I had our first volunteering induction session this week, and we had the opportunity to visit and learn about this fascinating nature reserve. It was a great success, and I'm happy to report that spending a morning at Camley Street Natural Park really does feel like leaving the big city. What's more is that inside the park I found something that is relevant to this blog: food!
Camley Street Natural Park is located on the site of an old coal yard and was created in 1984. The park, vastly changed from what it used to look like before its inception, now has pond, meadow, and woodland habitats. Walking through the park you can admire a wide variety of animals and plants, both native and non-native. The park is extremely popular, and is largely used as an educational site for children. I was very surprised to learn that this site is the first point of contact with nature for many children living in the urban core.
The main goal of the park being the protection of wildlife, I was happily surprised to learn that due to the growing popularity of the site and an increased demand for urban gardens, agricultural activities are now taking place here as well. As you can see in the photo below, the grounds are now also being used for growing food in the community. Gardens are interspersed around the site on raised beds due to the fact that the soil is contaminated from the industrial activities that used to occur here. The use of raised beds prevents the possibility of contaminants, such as heavy metals, of entering the food being grown.
What I found even more impressive is that the site is also home to a floating garden on the canal (photographed below). In previous posts on this blog, we covered topics such as food waste, where food comes from, and how agriculture came to be. I think this little bit of urban garden fits perfectly in this story - it shows us that even in a city as big as London, food can still be grown in a sustainable way that supports the community and the local environment. The site is also an excellent example of environmental change through time: what was once an abandoned contaminated site is now, as you can see, teeming with life.
What are the benefits of urban gardens such as these, you may ask? Studies have shown that the presence of these urban gardens has positive health and environmental impacts, including improved access to food, nutrition, and physical activity, as well as conservation benefits. Wakefield et al. and Goddard et al. respectively discuss these positive impacts in detail.
As I mentioned before, a big part of the project is the conservation of biological diversity along London's waterways. Why not head over to Elena's blog, Invasive Species Are Among Us, to find out about what we learnt on invasive species within the park? Her new post, entitled Invasives of Camley Street Nature Park, is a great read.
I'm leaving you with a video created by Greengage Films and Environment Films on a typical day in the life of Camley Street Natural Park. Follow the link on the photo below to access the video on Vimeo. Thanks for reading, and have a great Sunday!
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