Chinbrook Meadows Wetlands Interpretation Boards – Accessible Text

Banner picture shows a woman with wellies on in the river. She is holding a net in the water and looking into the river. The river has dense sedges lining both banks.

Board 1 – River Quaggy
Board 2 – Welcome to the Wetlands!
Board 3- Flora and Fauna

All boards list logos of the partners of the project:

  • The London Borough of Lewisham
  • Thames21
  • FoCM- Friends of Chinbrook Meadows
  • Environment Agency
  • The Mayor of London
  • bef- Bonneville Environmental Foundation
  • Thames Water
  • QWAG- Quaggy Waterways Action Group

Board 1 – River Quaggy

Much of the Quaggy flows through concrete channels and underground tunnels called culverts. This makes it very difficult for vegetation and animals to survive in the river. Additionally, because the river has been straightened, during high rainfall events, water gushes down the Quaggy very quickly and can flash flood properties around the river.

Luckily, the Quaggy flows through many green spaces, including Manor Park, Sutcliffe Park, and here at Chinbrook Meadows. This means that there are opportunities to restore the river to a more natural state away from houses and buildings.

The River Quaggy is the river that you can see as you cross the bridge into the wetlands. It rises in Locksbottom and flows for 17 km through the London Boroughs of Bromley, Greenwich, and Lewisham. It joins the River Ravensbourne at Lewisham, flowing on into the Thames at Deptford Creek.

Board 2 – Welcome to the Wetlands!

HISTORY

Welcome to the Chinbrook Meadows wetlands!

The site you are looking at now has seen a lot of change over the last 100 years, with these wetlands being the latest change.

When digging the wetland ponds, the agricultural history of the site was uncovered. Hundreds of intact milk bottles, machinery, and tools were dug up, left over from a dairy farm that used to be here. In the 1800s and early 1900s, cows would graze the Meadows and drink from the River Quaggy, providing milk to local people.

In 1929, that all changed when the Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham bought the land. The dairy farm was landfilled, and the land became a recreation ground for the people of the newly built Grove Park housing estate. It would remain this way for over 90 years.

The Grove Park Ditch enters the Quaggy just upstream of here and was found to be very polluted. To solve this issue, a series of wetland ponds were designed to naturally treat water from the ditch. The ponds provide other benefits such as recreational use, new habitat for plants and animals, and flood protection. In the autumn of 2023, the wetlands you see now were finally built, writing the next chapter for this land.

NATURAL FLOOD MANAGEMENT

Urban wetlands can help to reduce the risk of flooding downstream by slowing the flow of water into rivers, temporarily storing it in the ponds. This helps to prevent sudden surges of water entering rivers which cause flooding during downpours. With climate change, it is likely that large rainfall events will become more frequent, making the storage of water in green urban spaces increasingly important to reduce the flooding of homes.

WATER QUALITY

Rivers carry pollutants from many sources such as roads, sewers, farms, and homes, which can be harmful to animals and plants that live in and around rivers. Wetlands are a natural way to improve water quality by removing pollutants and excess nutrients.

Board 3- Flora and Fauna

These species collectively contribute to the ecological balance, biodiversity, and functioning of British wetland ecosystems.

PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE is known for its bright purple flowers which can reach up to 1.5 metres in height. During flowering season, between June and August, the nectar produced provides food for long tongued insects such as brimstone butterflies, red-tailed bumblebees and elephant hawkmoths.

MARSH MARIGOLD has bright yellow flowers called kingcups that attract pollinators. They flower from March to July, producing early nectar for insects and they provide cover for amphibians and small mammals.

DAMSELFLIES AND DRAGONFLIES are commonly found in wetlands during the spring and summer time. With over 30 species common to the UK, you’re more than likely to see one.

BROOKLIME is a herbaceous plant which is recognisable through its bright blue flowers. Found on wetland margins, it provides shelter for tadpoles and sticklebacks. The fleshy leaves are edible but very bitter!

SMOOTH NEWTS are amphibians found across the UK. Newts lay their eggs wrapped in leaves in the ponds. You can tell newt larvae apart from tadpoles from their feathered gills.

COMMON FROGS are amphibians, so wetland ponds are crucial to their lifecycle. Frogspawn is laid in non-flowing water such as these ponds. When tadpoles spawn, they have gills to breathe underwater before developing lungs as they mature.

COMMON REED acts as a natural filter in wetland ponds, absorbing and breaking down pollutants such as heavy metals and excess nutrients through its extensive root system. Its importance lies in its ability to improve water quality, stabilising the banks and providing habitat.

FLAG IRIS is identified through its ‘drooped’ yellow flowers which can be seen between May and August.

HERONS pass through almost all wetlands in the UK, including urban ones. They feed on anything from insects, fish, amphibians to small birds, making wetlands ideal feeding locations.