East London Festival of Nature - 25 June – 5 July

Lee Valley Regional Park Authority is set to launch the first East London Festival of Nature – 10 days of activity to inspire the local community about the wildlife and green spaces on their doorstep.

From talks and walks on birds, bees and butterflies to giant haystack rolling – the 10 days of activities will take place on and around Walthamstow Marshes and Leyton Marsh in Lee Valley Regional Park from 25 June – 5 July.

The festival will culminate in a citizen science bioblitz on Saturday 5 July on Walthamstow Marshes, when volunteers from the local community, together with nature experts and Lee Valley volunteers, will record a one-day visual snapshot of wildlife and species living on this Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The last bioblitz was conducted in 2019, so the 2025 research will provide a comparison to note changes.

During the festival local primary and secondary schools will enjoy outdoor learning experiences in the park and companies are taking part in corporate volunteering days.

It is hoped the inaugural East London Festival of Nature – organised by the Authority’s south ranger team together with local wildlife expects including the London Wildlife Trust– will become an annual event that encourages local communities to explore nearby open spaces and get inspired by nature.

Lee Valley Regional Park Ranger Luke Boyle said: “We hope lots of people will get to experience the amazing sites we have across East London across the 10 days of events. We’ve got some brilliant local wildlife experts joining us at events to enthuse, inspire and engage people to join our community that cares for nature and helps build biodiversity in London.”

Key Calendar Events

Wednesday 25 June – Walthamstow Wetlands – London Wildlife Trust event with

Welcome Connecting Science. Event for youth and schools

Saturday 28 June – Giant Haystacks – Walthamstow Marshes (ticketed event)

Saturday 5 July – Bioblitz on Walthamstow Marshes to also include:

Butterfly Walk – led by local author and wildlife photographer Paul Lister

Bird Walk – led by David Cotteridge from Friends of Tottenham Marshes 

Grass Talk - Maria Vorontsova, Grassland expert at Kew Gardens