Free Seeds From BBC Dig In 2010

The amazing people at BBC have once again saved the summer for all of us by donating free veggie seeds directly to you!!

Remember - this is paid for by your licence fee - so please take advantage of it.

This year they are sending out free French Beans, scrumptious Salad, comely Carrots, curvy courgettes and beautiful aromatic Basil. Imagine all that on your dinner plate in a few short weeks?!

Come on Hackney Wick - even if you really don't have green fingers (& everyone does!) - then please order them anyway - and guerrilla garden you way around the neighbourhood. That ramp up to the station could do with some aromatic Basil, the wasteground below the A12 footbridge is crying out for beans growing all up the fence - you could even sneak the carrots into any public flower beds - and come back at midnight in July to lift them out for a feast!

Aaaaaaanyhow - here's the link: http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/digin/ and happy digging in!!

Wick Woodland Management Day - Sunday 28

Heaps of green volunteers are hosting a woodland management day around the corner at the Hackney Community Tree Nursery tomorrow.

Steve and Annie are great friends of Hackney Wick - and have donated many items for our gardens - so the least we can do is return the favour - and help out between 10.30am and 2pm tomorrow.

So if you are interested in this lovely way to spend a Sunday morning - please meet at the Tree Nursery in Hackney Marshes. Just turn off Homerton Road - into the car-park where we all get our compost. On the right hand side you'll see the nursery.

You will be amazed at what you can learn about coppicing, wood management, mushrooms, and of course - just how much more space is being taken away by the Olympic Juggernaut!


Please come on down.

‘A Great African Scandal’ a film by Dr Robert Beckford

We are currently in the midst of the annual fairtrade fortnight where all the great people, groups, charities and foundation, get together to promote the many invaluable reasons why we should all buy as much fairtrade products as possible.

If you’d like to know more please check out

http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/get_involved/fairtrade_fortnight/

As a celebration of fair-trade fortnight, Hackney’s famous Arcola theatre has got together with the tower hamlets and hackney FT groups to present a free screening of ‘The Great African Scandal’. The film sees lecturer and broadcaster Dr Robert Beckford investigating Ghana’s economic poverty despite its natural wealth in minerals and stable democracy.

The film will be screened at

St Mark's Church Hall,
Colvestone Crescent, Dalston,
Hackney, E8 2NL (between Sandringham Road and Ridley Road)

Tuesday 2 March 2010

6.30pm -7.30pm

Film goers will be invited to stay and chat after the film screening and enjoy a cup of Fairtrade tea or coffee and a slice of cake.

For more information, please contact Rachel Carless, Arcola Theatre’s Sustainability Projects Manager, at rachel@arcolatheatre.com / 0207503 1645

We've just had a brilliant invitation to help clean up the canal with British Waterways.

I know some of us have been invovled in these annual clean-ups before - but we need many more volunteers to help out this year. It is always a lovely fun-filled day - and we get to meet many more of our neighbours from up & down the canal!

Felicity McClintock from British Waterways says: Hackney’s event will cover the stretch from Leabridge Road (Princess of Wales Pub) through to the towpath opposite you on Saturday 13th March.


*********** Towpath Tidy London 1st to 14th March 2010 *****************

We are calling on volunteers to come and help us spring clean our waterways.



Volunteers are needed to put on their boots and take part in British Waterways’ Towpath Tidy 2010 – coordinated activity days which will take place along targeted stretches of the capital’s waterways between Monday 1st and Sunday 14th March 2010.

Everyone is welcome, with activities ranging from litter picking, planting, painting and graffiti cleaning, floating litter removal to cutting back towpath vegetation.

To find out how you can get involved and to register for one (or more) of the events, contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Karen Fishwick on

mob 07917 424590, email: karen.fishwick@britishwaterways.co.uk

or visit www.waterscape.com/towpathtidy

to visit all Towpath Tidy listings and locations in the country. You may also want to follow Towpath Tidy on Twitter and Facebook.



Eight London locations

Brent Reservoir (Monday 1st March)
Bishop’s Stortford, Stort Navigation (Monday 1st March)
Ealing (3 sites), Grand Union Canal, Paddington Arm (various dates)
Hackney, River Lee Navigation (Saturday 13th March)
Kingsland Basin, Regent’s Canal (Saturday 13th March
Slough Arm, Grand Union Canal (Wednesday 3rd March)
St Pancras, Regent’s Canal (Saturday 6th March)
Stockley Park, Grand Union Mainline Canal (Thursday 18th March)


Please note numbers may be limited at some locations depending on works and facilities so it is important you let her know if you would like to join us.

If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Felicity McClintock
Water Quality & Environment – Project Coordinator
Lower Lee Valley Waterways

British Waterways London
1 Sheldon Square, Paddington Central, London W2 6TT
Mob: 07 500 226 139

www.waterscape.com

Come on Hackney Wick - let's get the other side of the canal all cleaned up as well!!

Paul's Canalside Sunflowers

Thanks to Paul for all the sunflower seeds he planted along the Hackney Wick stretch of the Lea River Navigational Canal.

He has brightened up many a ramblers stroll and cyclists journey.

Please Hackney Wick - get inspired by this an start making seed bombs ready for the spring. If you have any spare bulbs - get planting right now!!

You too can make all our lives a whole lot more beautiful!!

Hackney Wick Guerilla Gardeners Strike Again!!

With only a few short weeks to go to the Hackney Wick Festival 2009 - our VERY friendly Guerrilla Gardeners have delivered a stunning raised bed for us!

Thank you to everyone involved!!! You have really made this little corner of the Wick beautiful!!

Please - Hackney Wick - go for a lovely stroll over the weekend - and spend a few minutes on the new wide corner of Berkshire Road & Wallis Road. There's a fragrant bay tree surrounded by loads of busy lizzies & pansies!

Hackney Wick Guerrilla Gardeners - we all love you!!!

See Also:

http://hackneywick.blogspot.com/2009/09/hackney-wick-guerilla-gardeners-strike.html

http://leabanksquare.blogspot.com/2009/09/hackney-wick-guerilla-gardeners-strike.html

Sunflower Avenue Through Hackney Wick!!

This summer - we would love to attempt an avenue of sunflowers all the way from the Hackney Wick Community Centre - in the Eastway - through to the footbridge at the end of Wallis Road.

Imaging a beautiful path of yellow all along Osborne, Berkshire & Wallis Roads right over into Viccie Park!?!

Some of the residents of Leabank Square - about half way - have already agreed to plant along the main Berkshire Road part of the avenue. Terry - the manager of the Hackney Wick Community Centre - has lovingly agreed to kick it all off at the Community Centre. And Tom & his lovely family at the Wallis Road end have fantastically agreed to plant some along the tall brick wall.

So - please everyone else!!! Grab a bag of seeds at Lidl, B&Q or the Pound Shop - and start planting all along this avenue! It will bring us all together in such a great path of happy yellow!!