Volunteers from Friends of the River Roding hired a digger this February and March to dredge the Alders Brook, a neglected tributary near Ilford sitting between the boroughs of Newham and Redbridge.
The work — spanning 10 days — removed years of accumulated silt, allowing aquatic plants to grow and potentially attracting fish, kingfishers and herons back to the site.
Founder Paul Powlesland notes that although the brook has been cut off from the main River Roding, this may actually protect it from sewage overflow and agricultural run-off that pollutes the main river, and could create a haven for wildlife.
Film and feature image credit: Ivy Burnett
Attribution from the video: Fleet River Saffron Hill Z22, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Making of England 1900 Green, John Richard, 1837-1883, No restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
Join the discussion