Connecting with nature in London

I live in the Bromley Borough and we are lucky as we have a lot of green spaces here including woodland, parkland and riverside.  I try to walk in the fresh air every day and lead a walk once a week for a local residents' association.  I believe that nature is the main thing that keeps me sane

Hey! I live in hackney. For the past couple of months I’ve spent most mornings walking along the canal (towpath cafe to the end of Victoria park) picking up litter. A ritual I kinda picked up as on my morning walks I noticed how much litter… but couldn’t see any bins. 

I asked local businesses and was told the canal and river trust took them away. So I decided one morning that on my usual walk I’d stop and pick up as I go.

Been doing it for a while now. I cherish the opportunity to live by the urban oasis that is the waterways. Met so many wonderful people and have realized the power of nature and calm moments. 

Super cool channel and page thanks for making!! 

I used to live in Woolwich and really enjoyed taking a walk along the riverside around sunrise / sunset but since moving a bit further away I don't get to spend as much time by the water as I would like due to the constantly-rising cost of public transport and my own disabilities.  I have spent time in the parks to get around this but it's rather sad as they are mostly flat expanse of bland grass, with no plant diversity allowed or encouraged. When they go around with the leaf blowers and grass mowers and such in fall, destroying the hiding places that insects need to survive the winter I cringe, knowing that they put up all these posters about the importance of the minibeasts and yet use methods that would destroy their habitats. 

Initiatives like the Crystal Palace Transition Town or Greenwich Wildlife Trust, both volunteer run were great ways to get to know a new area and nature, I'd be more involved if similar activities were supported locally closer to where I live, eg within walking distance. The local park has a parkrun and cafe, so already well resourced, perhaps add in nature and citizen science schemes for older people, as most are targeted at people with young children?

When natural places are overcrowded, I am unable to  contemplate nature, to connect with it or to relax.

I like Lee Valley: canal walks, meadows, bird watching places.

I am so fortunate to have lived in London all my life. Newham has improved it’s environment over the past ten years but there is still so much to do. We can all do our bit by looking after our own green place. I volunteer on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Maryland Primary School and my local Allotment and feel that I’m getting more than I am giving. To be in a green environment is so good for our wellbeing. I’m currently designing a garden for a local place called the ELBWO centre. I’m not an expert but trying my best. 
I would encourage everyone to do something for their green areas. All the best. 

I'm extremely lucky to live in an area which is close to a good size Park - Bushy Pk so this is my main 'source' of nature. I also live reasonably near (a 25 min walk) to the river and tow path. 

I do spend a lot of time in the Park - we always thought of it as our 'backgarden'. It's only things like the weather and time which limit me. 

I often go into areas of the park away from car parks and the cafe. Also there are 2 woodlands where dogs are not permitted. So mostly the quieter areas. A place to be calm, relaxed, appreciate my surroundings, watch the seasons change. 

I like in Teddington and adore going into Bushy Park for a dose of nature. I am a wheelchair user and can only get there if I have a Support Worker who can drive me there. I love going there to walk with other dog lovers (I belong to Borrow my doggy and enjoy going to the Park with other dog owners). I also do a monthly wheel/walk through the Woodland Gardens with my neuro physio and his group of clients. It's always a VERY social time with us all chatting about what we have done in the past month 

I have more time to spend in nature in London as I’ve recently retired. I volunteer in a community gardening project but would also find it useful to have  a central information hub to access information about other volunteering opportunities and nature events. 

While London is blessed with many parks and green spaces that include cemeteries listed for their biodiversity such as South London's 'Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries' in the borough of Lewisham there is not a coordinated, shared or overarching plan for London's biodiverse care of its green spaces that should hold all London boroughs to managing their 'green plots' toward conservation of the life-cycles of wild fauna and flora species. Ad hoc management by boroughs with thoughtless out-of-season strimming, mowing, cutting and digging too often has absolutely no regard to 'creatures great and small' along with wild plants, having a chance to thrive according to their seasonal timeclocks.   

I live in a very green area of SELondon where we not only have many large green parks but there is also the remanants of the great North wood and amny small rivers that are subsiduarires of the tames that flow into the river. 

The success of beckenham place park could be one to emulate and i would like to see the river walks the POl the ravenscourne etc made more accesible

I do this activity called geocaching which is like a treasure hunt where you download an app which tells you where to go and how to find things. geocaching.com is where you need to log onto and create an account. It’s either free or you can pay in order to get more caches. It has provided me with a greater understanding of the environment.

In London we are very lucky (this is uncommon) to be blessed with many green / blue spaces which are very easy to access.

We as the community need to understand and take our responsability in helping our area remain good.

Whilst focussing on stopping fly tipping (this includes people thinking it is right to dump their picnics, cans etc. in green and blue spaces) and water companies offloading raw sewage in increasing amounts, we individually need to help.

Time to stop the wholesale paving over of gardens which is causing decreases in insect, bird etc. numbers. Paving over without any garden area also causes rain water to run off our properties and end up in the drains. The extra water floods the sewage works so Thames Water dumps raw sewage into our rivers more often to stop it ending up backing up into our homes.

Removing planting also makes our area hotter and more polluted. Even planters and window boxes make a positive difference to paved areas.

The Mayor can make a difference also by incentivising councils to remove paving / hard standing and get planting.

I've felt welcome wherever I've been in London's green spaces & spend much time outdoors so would be difficult to spend much more. As a keen naturalist I visit numerous local sites but visit others at all points of the compass & beyond. Also lucky to have my own garden which I manage for myself & to encourage as much wildlife as possible.

As a retired 77 year old (or young), I go out nearly every morning, by bus and/or train, weather permitting, to walk somewhere in London.  My nature-friendly walks include Hampstead Heath, Primrose Hill, Regents Park, Hyde Park, Holland Park, St James's Park, Greenwich Park, Wimbledon Common, and so many other green spaces that I'm familiar with.  As for where I don't feel welcome is having to share my once-favourite routes with speeding cyclists, e.g. the Regents Canal and the River Lea, or for that matter, having the audacity according to Enfield Council, to cross Green Lanes (the A105), Winchmore Hill, without the facility of a pedestrian crossing, so as to access my nearest northbound bus stop.

I cannot say what all this does for my wellbeing, but the very fact that I can still walk quite fast must mean something.  I also use my walks to photographic nature's beauty, be it bare trees in winter with a beautiful cloud background, or one of the many herons to be seen in the London parks.

As for Outdoor activities, I've been leading walks in countryside or green areas for most of my adult life and, currently, those are based on several of my favourite green walks in London.

London councils own a significant area of green space to which most people have limited or no access. This is land used for golf courses and for farming. During the pandemic in particular, greater access to that land could have been very beneficial for the large number of people who don’t have their own garden.

Councils should be asking themselves whether these are the best uses of that land. Perhaps it would be in the public interest for people to have better access to a resource that is owned on their behalf. 

I live near Greenwich and love walking along the river and in the park. The water ways need to be protected and cleaned  and the  water companies held to account for polluting these gorgeous waterways more strongly than they are. They just get a slap on the wrist and don’t care and look at the general public as a bottomless bank account they can tap into by raising prices. We need to allow nature to breathe and survive so we can enjoy and nature can thrive 

There is very little nature left to connect with; it is all managed. We need more areas where wildlife can develop undisturbed. Tidying up a woodland so that cyclists can use it as a racetrack is counterproductive. Planting parks with non native species doesn't help nature, it gives an illusion of nature.