What happens now? Since the disappointing and frustrating news about the plans for a secure facility for children was announced our community has leaped into action. Thank you to everyone who has written in, attended the consultation, or spoken to your neighbours! A lot of you who generously donated to this Crowdfunder have also been asking what happens now. The answer is that it’s very early days, but one thing is for sure: we will do everything we can to oppose the forthcoming planning application, and we need your help: https://www.elwp.org.uk/Blog.htm?Blog=62. Right now, the main action we’d like you to take is to write to your local councillors asking them to stand up for East London Waterworks Park: https://www.elwp.org.uk/Blog.htm?Blog=62 ⬇️ If, despite local community opposition, the developer/ government decides to proceed with the planning application, we’ll continue to do everything we can to oppose this inappropriate plan for development on our protected Metropolitan Open Land together. There are full details of what this process will look like in our recent blog. Please do have a read: https://www.elwp.org.uk/Blog.htm?Blog=61 ⬇️ If the planning application for a secure children’s facility is successful, then we will be unable to purchase the site we want to transform into East London Waterworks Park. If this happens then, as explained on the crowdfunder page and on our website, donations will be used to support relevant, local projects in accordance with our charitable objects. We really hope we won’t get to this point but, if we do, we’ll invite everyone who donated to help us decide how to spend the money. At the time of writing, £558,274.15 is safe in a Charity Bank account. Charity Bank is an ethical bank entirely owned by charitable foundations, trusts and social purpose organisations. What can I do? We will let you know how you can keep our dream for our park alive each step along the way. Sometimes you have to struggle for your dreams but the results are always worth it. Thank you for your continued faith in our project and all the contributions you have made so far. Remember to sign up to keep posted on the latest developments: https://www.elwp.org.uk/SignUp.htm Is volunteering and outreach still happening? Yes! We are continuing with our positive community action and events, and we are continuing to contribute to our community through collaborations with local citizens and organisations. Recently we accompanied Year 7 and 8 Buxton School Council members on a day of learning about the environment and sustainability in and around the River Lea, taking them on a perimeter site walk and joining in with workshops we’d organised for them with EcoActive at Leaside. We’ve also created a series of lesson plans for Buxton School for Year 7 Geography, focused on learning about wilding at East London Waterworks Park. Continuing our collaboration with University College London, we are also exploring how data science can contribute to ecological design. On 3 February, we hosted a vibrant and informative forest school co-design workshop. We are continuing with our inclusivity workshops as part of our listening project. ‘Patterns in Nature’ photography exhibition At East London Waterworks Park we offer something for everyone! We’re delighted to invite you to our upcoming photography exhibition at The Mill in Walthamstow. Our ‘Patterns in Nature’ exhibition will showcase the beauty of nature through the lenses of talented photographers of all ages. The exhibition will feature the winners, runners-up and highly commended photographs from our 2023 World Photography Day photo competition. East London Waterworks Park volunteer and photographer Jonathan Perugia was one of the three judges of the competition. He says: ‘The photos reveal the deep passion people have for nature, capturing the essence of our community's connection with the environment and the enthusiasm to create a unique place for wildlife and wild swimming in East London.’ The exhibition, kindly sponsored by FRMD, will run from 5 March to 5 April 2024 at The Mill Walthamstow (7–11 Coppermill Lane, E17 7HA). It is free entry. Do pop along! East London Waterworks Park team, 8 February 2024