Rewilding Waltham Forest’s Ching Brook
The Ching Brook Action Group is based in Chingford, north east London and always happy to welcome new members.
Transforming the health of the River Ching
Like many urban rivers, the River Ching suffers from pollution. This pollution comes from misconnected plumbing, sewage overflows and surface run off from roads and fields. With Thames21’s help, the Group has used environmental models to identify areas along the river Ching which could help reduce pollution and flooding, if green infrastucture was installed, such as wetlands and SuDS (Sustainable urban Drainage Systems). These green spaces can help trap the pollutants and filter them before they reach the river.
Providing more green space
The group are very interested in investigating the potential of nature-based solutions to:
- help clean the Ching
- provide habitat for aquatic plants and creatures such as wading birds and dragonflies
- create more green space for local people to enjoy
- provide space for outdoor classrooms and other community events.
So far residents have identified twelve spaces which, if installed, would enable the Ching Brook to achieve good ecological status, a major step forward for London.
They are now reaching out to other community groups and Waltham Forest Council to prioritise areas with maximum impact.
Join the Ching Brook Action Group!
Join the Ching Brook Action Group by emailing Rosie Nelson at Thames21