ActForEaling Partners involved in Ealing Community Parks, Gardens, green spaces, biodiversity and nature are listed below and further details of their organisation follows after the list:
- Boston Manor Park: https://www.hounslow.gov.uk/BostonManorPark
- Citizen Zoo: https://www.citizenzoo.org/
- Cultivating Ealing: https://www.facebook.com/cultivatingealing
- CURB: cleanuptheriverbrent@gmail.com
- Ealing Common Society: https://www.ealingcommonsociety.org/
- Ealing Council Parks: https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201132/parks_and_open_spaces
- Ealing Parks Foundation: https://www.ealingparks.foundation/
- Ealing Wildlife Group: https://ealingwildlifegroup.com
- Ealing Transition Community Orchard: https://ealingtransition.org.uk/community-orchard/
- Friends of Friar Gardens: https://www.goparks.london/park/friar-s-gardens
- Friends of Grand Union Canal: https://www.friendsofgrandunioncanal.co.uk/
- Friends of Grove Farm: https://friendsofgrovefarm.wixsite.com/community
- Froglife: https://www.froglife.org/
- Friends of Horsenden Hill: https://horsenden.org/hill/
- Hanwell and Norwood Green Orchard Trail: https://orchardtrail.wordpress.com
- Hanwell Zoo: https://hanwellzoo.co.uk/about/conservation/
- Lager Can: https://lagercan.co.uk/
- Mill Hill Park Residents’ Association: http://millhillparkacton.org/
- The Selborne Society: https://selbornesociety.org.uk/
- Village Park Community Allotment: https://ealingtransition.org.uk/community-garden/
- Wolf Fields (run by Arocha): https://arocha.org.uk/what-we-do/wolf-fields/
Boston Manor park is the largest green open space in Brentford with 34 acres of historic park, woodland, lake and meadow and is the setting for the fantastic Grade I listed Boston Manor House. Reconnecting Boston Manor Park, a multi-million lottery-funded project to restore one of the borough’s green lungs. Read about the project’s progress on the blog, and discover what activities, events and volunteering opportunities are coming up. For more information click here
CITIZEN ZOO is a rewilding organisation made up of a passionate team and volunteers across the UK, working to restore nature and help species and habitats thrive. Together with members, supporters, funders and partners, Citizen Zoo is creating a world rich in diversity, beauty and abundance by restoring habitats, reintroducing species to their former ranges and empowering people and communities to protect their local nature. In Ealing, Citizen Zoo has partnered with the Ealing Wildlife Group, Friends of Horsenden Hill and Ealing Council to deliver the Ealing Beaver Project, London’s first fully urban beaver reintroduction project at Paradise Fields.
Citizen Zoo’s website can be found here, with more information about the beaver project here.
Cultivating Ealing – was formed in 2019 to run free-to-enter horticultural competitions for the Borough, succeeding Ealing in Bloom which ceased activity that year. It currently runs competitions for allotments and schools with the intention of extending its scope into other areas in 2024. There are many benefits that arise from growing, including personal wellbeing, care for the environment and producing local food. With schools, the Cultivating Ealing judges provide feedback and encouragement to school gardening clubs with the aim of developing skills and knowledge for the next generation of gardeners and food producers.
More information about Cultivating Ealing including links to application forms for 2024 competitions when available can be found here https://www.facebook.com/cultivatingealing
C U R B
CURB – Clean Up the River Brent – is an action-based volunteer group working in and around the river to improve water quality and habitat. We have removed tonnes and tonnes of rubbish from the river since we were founded in 2021, working in partnership especially with LAGER Can. We also work to remove invasive species like giant hogweed and himalayan balsam, liaising closely with Ealing Park Rangers, and we have been planting reeds to try and improve the riparian resilience and habitat. We also campaign with stakeholders to improve water quality by reducing sewage and other polluting inputs, working with local MPs, Ealing Council, the GLA, the Environment Agency, Thames 21 and Thames Water. We have a pioneering electronic water quality monitoring system sponsored by the EA, with 20 units going into the river this year. CURB is affiliated with the Brent River and Canal Society (Brent River Park), and LAGER Can (Litter Action Group for Ealing Reisdents). We can be contacted on Facebook at CURB – Clean Up the River Brent, on X (Twitter) @BrentPollution, via brentriverpark.org or by email cleanuptheriverbrent@gmail.com
We are always looking for new members and participants, and run a year-round programme of events working with happy groups of volunteers in the fresh air.
The Ealing Common Society was founded in 1991 to foster, preserve and protect the facilities, amenities and fabric of the open space in Ealing Common. The Society works to improve, and raise awareness about, The Common through practical projects, such as the planting of hundreds of bulbs and mulberry trees. They organise a range of activities for both members and the general public, this includes guided walks exploring the common, as part of the London Open Spaces festival.
If you would like more information, or to get involved, email ealcomsoc@gmail.com. St Martin’s Parish Office (Rear of Church Hall), Hale Gardens, London. W3 9SQ.
The council maintains over 160 parks and open spaces, used by Ealing residents and visitors for recreation, relaxation and sport. The park rangers are a team of seven, who undertake conservation management and community engagement in parks.
The rangers collaborate with numerous community and conservation groups and individual volunteers to maintain and enhance parks for biodiversity. You can join their volunteers, by emailing parks@ealing.gov.uk and they will let you know about upcoming events and activities in parks.
https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201132/parks_and_open_spaces
Ealing Parks Foundation (EPF) is a charitable organisation operating since January 2020. EPF seeks to celebrate and support Ealing’s more than 140 parks and greens spaces across the seven towns of borough, enhancing wildlife and protecting heritage and biodiversity. In addition, EPF promote activities that engage and empower local communities to actively care for their parks and green spaces. This includes creating and promoting opportunities for learning, participating and volunteering, through innovative schemes. In this way, it is hoped that Ealing’s parks and green spaces can realise their full potential, be enjoyed by everyone and have a positive influence on community well-being.
Ealing Wildlife Group is an inclusive community of locals interested in nature and wildlife in the Borough of Ealing and beyond. As well as sharing knowledge, sightings, and photos, Ealing Wildlife Group seek advice, lobby local authorities and developers, organise educational events, arrange outings and celebrate the wonderful wildlife we share our surroundings with. Passionate about nature, this community of likeminded individuals, made up of a dedicated group of volunteers, local experts, and amateur naturalists, are keen to continue to learn, and actively conserve, it. Relying on citizen science, Ealing Wildlife Group also collect and submit data on biodiversity in Ealing.
For more information, visit their website by clicking here. Or connect with them on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Friars Gardens, in central Acton, is a small triangular green with mature trees that features a community garden, an adventure trail, a bug hotel and three wildflower mini-meadows. Around the perimeter of the garden are 30 espalier apple trees and in the southern area of the park a plum tree that is very popular with visitors. A refurbishment project undertaken in 2018 improved accessibility, so that there are extra entrances and a path that winds through the trees. In addition to a couple of benches, the pink sandstone rocks of the adventure trail provide extra, natural seating.
In the summer of 2021, Friars Gardens participated in Ealing’s entry for London In Bloom, helping to secure LBE a gold award. A loyal group of residents undertakes gardening on the green and welcomes volunteers to join in.
To find out more about FOFGA, go to : https://www.goparks.london/park/friar-s-gardens
You can also email friarsgardensW3@gmail.com or find them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Twitter: friarsgardensW3
IG: friarsgardensW3
Facebook: FriarsGardens
Friends of Grand Union Canal, a partner organisation of the Canal and River Trust work with local residents, boaters, councils and other like-minded organisations to make the canal and its environment cleaner, greener and safer. To this end, we organise positive activities to promote the canal, such as litter picking, planting and walking. We provide a focal point for questions and community links through our Facebook page where members (nearly 6000 of them!) post pictures and comments and useful information about events on the canal. We can be contacted through our website or on Facebook.
Website: https://www.friendsofgrandunioncanal.co.uk/
Friends of Grove Farm are a local community group founded in September 2021 by members of the local community. The group aims to bring together people who love Grove Farm Local Nature Reserve and want to support a green space where both local wildlife and the community can flourish.
Friends of Grove Farm host a variety of talks and walks to encourage local people to explore Grove Farm and connect to nature. They undertake monthly litter picks with LAGER Can to keep the nature reserve clean. They also work in collaboration with the Ealing Park Rangers, holding monthly conservation mornings with local volunteers to maintain and improve the current LNR space. To date, their conservation work has focused on improving light levels and removing scrub to increase biodiversity. One result has been the magnificent display of wood anemones in spring this year.
The group welcome all to volunteer and get involved in their activities.
For more information, please email friendsofgrovefarm@gmail.com
You can also connect with them via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Froglife is a national wildlife charity committed to the conservation of amphibians and reptiles – frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards – and saving the habitats they depend on. Froglife has worked with Ealing council to restore and create pond habitats to ensure that Ealing remains a stronghold for these species. In addition to this, Ealing is home to one of the London T.O.A.D project’s nature trails and Froglife continues to hold events that engage the community with local wildlife.
For more information, click here to visit their website. You can also connect with them via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Friends of Horsenden Hill are a voluntary group that, with the support of Ealing Rangers, help to look after Horsenden Hill. Made up of three main areas, this is the largest single nature conservation site within the borough at 100 hectares and comprises of meadows, wetland and woodland habitat. The Friends engage in numerous activities that support biodiversity and conservation and, where possible, use traditional methods of land management such as conservation grazing, hedge laying, woodland management and tree planting among other activities.
The group raise funds to make improvements to community spaces at Horsenden Hill, such as the Sensory Garden and Cosy Corner where people can relax and take in the sights and sounds of nature. They also organise community events including the annual Apple Day and Christmas Fayre, craft workshops, expert led foraging days and guided walks on Horsenden Hill.
If you would like to get involved and join this enthusiastic team of volunteers, email contact@friendsofhorsendenhill.org.uk to find out about their regular volunteering sessions.
To find out more information about Friends of Horsenden Hill, click here. Or, connect with them on Facebook.
Hanwell and Norwood Green Orchard Trail is a volunteer-led community group, who created and care for a trail of publicly accessible orchards in the Grand Union Canal corridor in Hanwell and surroundings. Since January 2015, we planted almost 200 fruit trees in 12 locations between Osterley Lock and Southall borders. We also added fruit baring hedges to most of our orchards.
Our orchards are managed as wildflower meadows, this enhances bio diversity by creating a habitat less favourable for grasses, brambles and nettles.
We work in close cooperation with Ealing Council Park Rangers and the Canal & River Trust.
Hanwell Zoo is a community zoo based in Ealing. We have over 30 species of exotic animals including Caribbean Flamingos, Ring Tailed Lemurs and Meerkats. The zoo has been in Hanwell for over 50 years and also acts as a showcase for local artists and community groups. Hanwell Zoo help conservation by holding a number of animals whose numbers in the wild are declining. They run education programmes which inform local school children and locals on the plight of the natural world. This will mean that those will feel more engaged and perhaps more inclined to help. This is all done with the help of the local community. The zoo is open every day, except Christmas day. The zoo is open from 10 -4 from September 12th to March 31st and from 10 -5 from April 1st to September 11th. Last entry is one hour before the zoo closes. The cost of entrance is £4.50 per adult and £3.50 per child.
LAGER Can was founded in February 2017 by local residents with the primary goal to make the borough’s open spaces cleaner and greener. Since then, they have grown exponentially with membership exceeding 1,800 by October 2021, a number that continues to grow! They work with a variety of partners including Ealing Council, the Canal & River Trust, businesses, and schools. LAGER Can is a very active group, with volunteers working every day independently or in groups, removing hundreds of bags of rubbish, recyclables and piles of unbaggable items from our open space (check out their real-time progress here).
They have also developed, and maintain, a Rose Garden near Alwyne and Manor Court Roads in Hanwell.
In May 2017, their fantastic work was recognised at a national level as they received a Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service.
If you would like to know more about LAGER Can, click here. You can also get in touch by emailing lagercan2020@gmail.com. Or, find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
The Mill Hill Park Residents’ Association (MHPRA) was founded in 2004 with the aim of stopping environmental and architectural degradation in the Mill Hill Park Conservation Area. Much of its work has focused on enhancing the green spaces in Mill Hill Park and the surrounding area. Examples include distributing saplings provided by the Woodland Trust to local residents; redesigning and replanting the Crown Street Pocket Garden (on receipt of Ward Forum funding); planting a community orchard in Heathfield Gardens with the help of the London Orchard Project and Ealing Transition; and, along with other groups, campaigning successfully for improvements to be made to Heathfield Gardens which resulted in the award of a Green Flag.
In 2019, the MHPRA launched a litter-picking initiative to keep its local streets and green spaces clean. MHPRA volunteers have since been joined by other Acton residents and the area covered has expanded beyond Mill Hill Park. In 2021, the MHPRA donated some children’s litter-picking equipment to a local primary school. The MHPRA is a member of LAGER Can.
If you would like to find out more about the MHPRA and its activities, click here or email millhillparkra@gmail.com.
Formed in 1885, the Selborne Society is one of Britain’s longest established conservation organisations. Honouring the tradition of natural history study, a new area of study pioneered by the 18th century clergyman Gilbert White, curate of the parish of Selborne in Hampshire, the society manages and preserves the Perivale Wood Local Nature Reserve in West London which it has owned since 1922. Today, the society strives to foster a love of nature and a commitment to conservation amongst visitors and the general public. Perivale Wood is one of Britain’s oldest private nature reserves and has been a bird sanctuary since 1905. Keeping it safe and intact means that access is restricted to Society members but in the April Open Month, there are three or four days when the public can come along and visit, plus many natural history events for the public throughout the year.
Wolf Fields Nature Reserve, acquired and brought to life by A Rocha in 2014, is a beautiful multipurpose greenspace, located on Norwood Road, Southall. Originally an unloved space used for waste dumping, the site now boasts a food growing plot, sensory garden, wildlife pond, wildflower meadow, and an orchard supported by the apiary. These additions by A Rocha have had a noticeable impact on biodiversity, providing valuable habitats for local wildlife.
The site is now well used by local community groups, colleges, schools and faith institutions for outdoor learning and formal/informal gathering. The Wolf Fields offered an incredible space for physical and mental healing and recovery and is now registered as a “Social Prescribing Project”. The project is run in partnership with local GP surgeries.
With new developments, including an “art project” and “disability project” (yet to be completed after lockdown), it is hoped that the site will become an excellent space for enjoyment and learning about the natural environment.
Everyone is welcome to join the volunteer work parties that take place every Wednesday, 10.30-1.30pm.
If you would like more information, please direct your email to Reserve Manager, Kailean Khongsai at: kailean.khongsai@arocha.org