Limbury and Westmoreland Park
Thanks to funding from Affinity Water’s Rooting for Wildlife scheme, we have begun the implementation of activities formulated in response to our extensive public consultation work the we undertook in the area in 2022 and 2023.
Consultation results
We consulted with local residents, park users and Luton Borough Council to understand the issues facing this stretch of the River Lea. The top priorities identified were:
- litter and cleanliness
- anti-social behaviour
- continued environmental management
- increased benches and accessibility
- Improved opportunities for children’s play
The resulting plan proposed an extensive set of work across the whole park
First steps
Luton Borough Council undertook management activities at the site, such as tree works to reduce shading along the river channel, and the funding received from Affinity Water will allow us to continue the these improvements on a smaller scale. We will be focusing on Catbrook, a tributary feeding into the main river channel with the work including:
- native thorn hedge planting at boundaries
- scrub clearance to reduce river channel shading
- invasive species removal, focusing on Himalayan balsam
We will also be running Junior River Wardens sessions for local schools to increase engagement with the river and you can find out more about that project here:
How to get involved
The work we are undertaking at this stage will be completed by ourselves and volunteers who will get the chance to learn practical conservation skills, as well as find out more about the River Lea. The benefits of volunteering and spending time outside in nature are well documented and not only benefit the participant through increased mental and physical health and well-being, but it can massively help an area in need and give something back to the community.
We are looking for more volunteers for this project so if you are interested in finding out more, please email adam.asquith@groundwork.org.uk. It could be that you have an enthusiastic team of employees ready to get stuck into fundraising or you are interested in a team building day. It could be that you are an individual and want to find out more about working in conservation or the charity sector. Whatever your reasons, we would love to hear from you!