Discover the Village Pond and make Flowers for Venus at the Mayor's Thames Festival 2007

Thames21 is creating a Village Pond complete with Pond Doctor Surgery, and Litter Metamorphosis Workshop at the Mayor's Thames Festival on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 September.

Now in its 10th year, the Thames Festival is a magical riverside party between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge attracting hundreds of thousands of Londoners and visitors.

Festival goers will find the pond in the Blue Ribbon Village area of the festival which is located for the first time in the newly re-landscaped Potters Field next to Tower Bridge. (Map below)

Thames21 work with thousands of volunteers every year to clean up, care for and celebrate London's waterways, which form a web of wildlife corridors and precious open spaces in the capital. Leigh McAlea, spokesperson for Thames21 said;

"The Village Pond will be a fun and eye catching feature of the Festival's environmental zone, the Blue Ribbon Village. You will have the chance to learn about conservation, and our resident Pond Doctor will be giving his top tips about creating wildlife havens in your pond, garden, balcony or window box."

"We are also inviting festival-goers to take part in the Metamorphosis Workshop and make 'Flowers for Venus' from discarded plastic bottles which will adorn a life size Water Goddess. She will emerge from an irridescent shell and stand on a plinth made from reclaimed bicycle wheels. This transformation of rubbish reclaimed from river clean ups, bins and landfill into a something beautiful represents Thames21's work to transform dirty and neglected waterways into cleaner greener spaces for all."

Paul Haden, Environmental Manager at Unilever's Corporate Centre, and sponsors of The Village Pond and Blue Ribbon Village said, 'The River Thames is an incredible river corridor and wildlife superhighway running through the heart of the capital and Unilever is pleased to actively support Thames21’s work to care for this wonderful resource for the benefit of local communities, wildlife and the wider marine environment.’

Thames21 added; “We are delighted that Unilever is supporting The Village Pond at the Thames Festival. Unilever’s ongoing support of Thames21’s work enables us to reduce high levels of litter on the River Thames and increase wildlife habitats on our waterways. The help of partners like Unilever means that Thames21 is better able to safeguard the future of London’s waterways.’

The Blue Ribbon Village will play host to over fifty environmental and water-related organisations providing activities for all the family, as well as a spectacular story-telling whale and face-painting.

Some of the amazing organisations joining Thames21 by the Village Pond include the Herpetological Conservation Trust, the London Wildlife Trust, Thames Estuary Partnership, the Wandle Trust, the Waterloo Green Trust and the Windfowl and Wetland Trust.

Thames21's 219 Canal Keeper Volunteers will also be on hand to talk to the public about what it's like to look after a stretch of waterway with Thames21.

Visitors to the Blue Ribbon Village can celebrate our waterways, our oceans and our planet with a host of environmental organisations and other features include a spectacular story telling whale and activities for all the family.

For those wishing to take the weight off their feet, unique deckchairs featuring specially commissioned designs of trees and wildlife from artists like Damien Hirst will be in use at the Village Pond. The deckchairs are part of the innovative Deckchair Dreams project and are on loan from the Royal Parks Foundation, the charity for London's eight Royal Parks.

Thanks to Unilever for generously sponsoring the Village Pond and Metamorphosis Workshop.

ENDS

For press enquiries please contact Leigh at Thames21 on 020 7213 0166 / 07875 250 284 / leigh.mcalea@thames21.org.uk

Notes to Editors:

1. The Blue Ribbon Village is located at Potters Field and is open from 12pm - 6pm on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 September. Click here for map.
2. The Village Pond will be built from renewable materials such as untreated railway sleepers. All the plants used in the pond will be re-planted after the festival at Thames21's ecology centre Tump53 in Bexley and on five habitat rafts in Central London.
3. Unilever is a corporate sponsor of Thames21's work to clean up London's waterways. Since 2001, Unilever have sponsored a Litter Trap on the River Thames to reduce floating litter, and have part funded Project Habitat - an innovative programme of work to install small scale habitats on the River Thames to boost biodiversity. Visit http://www.unilever.co.uk/ for more information
4. Kevin Herlihy is an artist working with recycled materials. He has worked on many public art commissions across London and the UK. He is running the Metamorphosis Workshop.
5. Mark Gallant is a Pond Doctor who works for the Lea Rivers Trust. Mark regularly advises organisations and councils about how to create wildlife havens in aquatic environments.
6. Unilever and Thames Water are sponsoring the Blue Ribbon Village, Mayor's Thames Festival 2007
7. www.thames21.org.uk