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The Friends of Elmhurst Gardens are appealing for young volunteers to help keep the Green Flag award-winning park tidy. Kaede Harding – who completed her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award earlier this year – explains why she was proud to help

In recent months, I have spent an hour of my Saturday mornings clearing up as much rubbish as I could from Elmhurst Gardens. The reason I did this was part of my three-month volunteer section for my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award.

As I approached the time for volunteer work, I thought about how I wanted to do something meaningful that wouldn’t be a half-hearted job just to get an award.

Elmhurst Gardens in South Woodford is my local park. I’m a resident of Wynndale Road and, over the years, myself and my family have frequently used the park for picnics, to play tennis, to hang out on sunny afternoons and to attend some of the fun events run by the volunteer group, the Friends of Elmhurst Gardens. Not once in that time has it ever occurred to me how the park remained so clean and well kept – which it really is. I decided my volunteering time would be well spent there, contributing towards this.

Having finished my volunteer work, I can say the experience has truly been eye-opening. Each Saturday, I saw many local faces, who became more and more familiar to me, from dog walkers to runners. I felt like I was in touch with the community.

I began the exercise simply clearing any litter I could during that one hour a week, but as time went on, I found myself more upset as I came across litter – it suddenly bothered me that little bit more.

Elmhurst Gardens is a well-maintained park with regular park cleaners, but we shouldn’t just rely on them; we should all be playing our part to keep it this way. Some of the items I cleared away during just one hour on a Saturday morning included sweet wrappers, bottles, cigarette butts, canisters of laughing gas and even dirty nappies left on the grass. Just after New Year’s Eve, I found a burnt-out Chinese lantern complete with non-disintegrating wire still attached, lying on the pathway where it had finally fallen. I’m ashamed to say, perhaps I wouldn’t have noticed these things before doing this exercise – but I’m more alert to the issues now.

I realise how important Elmhurst Gardens is to this area and can now appreciate how littering is not only letting down the environment but our community as well. We all have a responsibility towards creating a safe place for ourselves, our children and our dogs.

I haven’t written this article because it was part of my award, but because it means something to me, and if it helps people to think more about how they discard rubbish and look out for their local community, then it’s certainly worth it.

My name is Kaede Harding and I’m proud to be a part of this community.

For local resident Shelagh French, the pathway to a career as an artist was not straightforward. Now, as a member of the Woodford Arts Group – which will be unveiling its first art exhibition at the end of May – she is keen to see where the path will take her next

It wasn’t until going to university to study BA Fine Art at the age of 40 that I discovered I’m dyslexic. It was instantly obvious to my tutors that the written work and research elements of the course were proving to be extremely difficult for me, so they encouraged me to get assessed.

This understanding my tutors had towards learning difficulties was not around in my schooldays during the seventies and eighties. Dyslexia wasn’t a word in anyone’s vocabulary back then, especially not in schools. My struggle with homework, exams and general reading and writing was put down to laziness; my enthusiasm instead misdirected towards being the class fool. I did, however, excel in my art classes, and my art teachers were extremely positive about my abilities, encouraging me to continue the study of art after secondary school – a recommendation I pursued.

At college, the written side was still excruciatingly difficult, and before long I dropped out. The added attraction of starting work and having a few bob in my pocket had won me over. After taking on various jobs, I began work at an architectural practice in the mid-eighties. I was able to work purely with visual mediums, meaning I had a good chance to excel, and I enjoyed a good career during this time.

But as I entered the nineties, I realised something was missing. I had a deep longing for children, and by the time the noughties had arrived, I had three daughters. I then made the decision to become a full-time parent, a choice I felt extremely lucky to make.

By the time my youngest daughter started primary school, I had the opportunity to begin the BA Fine Art course I had always wanted to do. Upon its commencement, together with the awareness of my dyslexia, I was provided with the understanding and tools for learning. My struggles also allowed me to spot the symptoms in others, encouraging me to get my youngest daughter assessed outside of school – confirming my suspicions that she too was dyslexic.

I began to love all elements of university, not just painting. I achieved a first and returned to do an MA. It was a great time for me, surrounded by others who also shared this love and interest for art.

With the perhaps naive optimism of an ex- (albeit mature) student, I took up a studio in Hackney Wick with a fellow graduate, believing we would take the art world by storm. After seeing the immense amount of energy, talent and time it took for the younger artists to even get a foot in the gallery doors, coupled with the eternal increase in rent in London, that bubble soon burst. But I did exhibit and sold pieces to both private and corporate clients. The goal was not to be a world-famous artist, but to just keep up the passion and motivation to continue.

I now have a wonderful little studio at the end of my garden which encourages me to keep creating, although inevitably, this means my work now tends to be smaller in scale than the large paintings I produced in my hedonistic, indulgent uni days. Although favouring oil paint in the past, I now work mainly in acrylic, as well as enjoying the immediacy of printmaking. I have Epping Forest literally on my doorstep, and with trips to Devon as well as Ireland where my parents are from, the influence of nature on my work is strengthened. I also work in a fantastic art department of a local secondary school, allowing me a wonderful chance to be part of helping to inspire young creatives in achieving their goals; this was the belief instilled in me at their age.

But being an artist can be an isolated existence if you don’t have other creatives around you. I therefore jumped at the chance of being involved in the Woodford Arts Group when the opportunity arose. We are presently appealing to any other Woodford-based artists to join us, to become a part of what is hopefully going to be an exciting movement. We are also looking to commercial property landlords to avail us of any empty shops, offices or blank walls that could provide space for pop-up exhibitions – anything that would aid us getting our work out there and seen.

It’s interesting how life turns out and I feel very lucky with how it has. The question is what to do next. Further studying, maybe a PhD (with lots more painting)… we’ll see.

South Woodford resident Bernice Butcher doesn’t consider herself to be an eco-warrior, but she is worried by two issues impacting the local environment, and ultimately, our health

I started thinking seriously about environmental issues in the late 80s when my children were small.  Reflecting on the effect of a road-widening scheme on the character of the area in London where I grew up, I had a sort of epiphany. It hit me that we were sacrificing our health and wellbeing for progress. The car had become our master rather than our slave.

Then I got onto the subject of recycling and the wastefulness of so much packaging ending up in landfill. I campaigned about this, as well as the problem of air pollution, as a one-woman band, pestering parents at the school gates to add their signatures to my letters. Later, I joined the local Friends of the Earth, the environmental group largely responsible for the introduction of our door-to-door recycling bins. Then, after developing an early form of breast cancer, I worked with the charity Breast Cancer UK, which promotes better understanding and recognition of the link between certain everyday chemicals and the incidence of breast cancer.

I can’t say that I was ever a real eco-warrior – too wedded to my creature comforts to become a ‘crusty’ and live in a tree like some of the Reclaim the Streets group protesting against the construction of the M11 link road – though I did sit on a bulldozer once!

These days, it is hard to be optimistic about the future when we are still harming the planet – and consequently, ourselves.  Naturally, I am concerned about the oceans and endangered species, but my focus is on human health.

There are two main issues that worry and distress me: the first is the way we seem hell-bent on degrading the character of our local area by paving over gardens. It seems every day another one bites the dust – before and after photos, anyone? We’re replacing greenery with concrete – and a few flower pots if we’re lucky – destroying wildlife habitats and increasing the flood risk. The car is still king.

The second thing I worry about:  people idling their engines while stationary – I don’t mean at the traffic lights – as if the air we breathe is not polluted enough.  The actor Nigel Havers has been on a one-man campaign, asking motorists to turn off their engines. I do the same – when I’m feeling courageous. It can feel a bit daunting at times, but in the main, the result has been positive. There is a law against this anti-social behaviour, yet local police and traffic wardens I have spoken to do not seem bothered. Even a friendly warning could go some way to reducing air pollution. It was encouraging to see ‘I’m not an idler’ notices at Highams Park level crossing the other day.

So, my parting shot: think it over before you pave it over. And: when you stop, turn if off!

Volunteering is rewarding and changes lives, says Rose Meredith of Vision RCL, who is encouraging residents to come and experience the joy of helping others at South Woodford Library this summer

This year, Volunteers’ Week runs from 1 to 8 June. This is when we thank volunteers for all they do and their contributions to volunteering in Redbridge Libraries.

Redbridge libraries are run by Vision Redbridge Culture and Leisure, and we recruit volunteers in Wanstead and South Woodford libraries to assist the public with all kinds of activities: from individual computer help, such as assistance with filling in online forms, to volunteering to deliver books as part of our Home Library Service for housebound readers, and volunteers enjoy being part of our children’s programme of activities, helping to deliver rhyme time sessions for under-5s.

We also have many young volunteers who assist us during the summer holidays with our annual Summer Reading Challenge, now in its 20th year. This is part of our wider programme of children’s summer activities we offer for children aged between four and 12 to boost their reading skills. This year, children who take part in the Summer Reading Challenge will be earning exciting prizes and medals for reading and talking to our volunteers about the books they have chosen to read. Volunteers make it fun for the children to keep reading throughout the summer and the children meet others in their local area and make new friends in South Woodford.

We are very grateful to our volunteers. We want to say a very big thank you to everyone for being part of our vibrant volunteer community and, of course, we welcome enquiries if you want to start volunteering in your local library.

Come along to South Woodford Library on 8 June – drop in between 2pm and 4pm – if you want to find out about being a volunteer in our Summer Reading Challenge. You can volunteer from the age of 14. The theme this year is ‘Space Chase’, inspired by the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing. Children taking part in the challenge will join our super space family, The Rockets, for a thrilling mission to track down books nabbed by mischievous aliens. There will be fun, prizes and, of course, a medal for each child who completes the challenge.

Our volunteers will be essential in helping us achieve the very best outcomes for all children who attend and our volunteers say they have a great time during the summer holidays with the children, the staff and the other volunteers. So, if you would like to join in and become a volunteer, come along to South Woodford Library and talk to us.

Following concerns over traffic, parking and child safety issues at Churchfields Junior School, Councillor Rosa Gomez (Churchfields, Labour) explains why she would like more children to arrive on foot

Many parents have contacted me to say how concerned they are about child safety outside Churchfields Junior School. The road itself is very busy with lots of traffic. Unfortunately,  some parents are adding to these risks by driving up to the school gates and parking dangerously as they drop off children.

In response, I organised a morning visit outside the school with Head Teacher Julie Anderson and colleagues from Redbridge Council’s Highways Department so we could see exactly what the situation is like and discuss solutions. I also spoke to parents so I could better understand their concerns. As someone who is registered blind, I use a personal assistant in my job as a councillor. My assistant described to me what was going on so I was able to appreciate how haphazard the parking was and just how hectic the whole area was at that time of day. As you can see from the photograph above, cars are mounting the kerb and blocking the pavement: evidence of how dangerous it is for children trying to walk safely on the pavement, let alone cross the road!

It was clear to all of us that a coordinated approach to reducing car traffic was needed to ensure children’s safety. And luckily, the council has recently launched a consultation about a new pilot scheme which will do just that. The Redbridge Schools Clean Air Zones will filter traffic surrounding some schools during drop-off and pick-up times, so the streets can only be accessed by cyclists and pedestrians during those periods, unless vehicles receive an exemption.

It will start in streets surrounding SS Peter and Paul’s Catholic Primary School and Gordon Primary school in Ilford, and I have been assured that streets surrounding Churchfields Junior School are also being considered. I am determined to support parents in this issue to ensure children can get to and from school safely.

Please do take up the opportunity to take part in the consultation and say what you think and help us to make sure Redbridge can become a safer and healthier place for our children, young people and all of us.

These schemes will also help tackle air pollution. A number of studies have shown evidence of increases in childhood asthma linked to pollution. So, reducing pollution is also critical to children’s health. More than 70% of Redbridge school-aged children live within one mile of their school, and the council is working hard to help children and families find healthier and safer ways to travel there – like walking, cycling or scooting.

Elaine Atkins and Louise Burgess were among the volunteers who helped give South Woodford a spring clean in March, removing 30-plus bags of litter from our streets

#GBSpringClean invited volunteers to spruce up their local communities up and down the country between 22 March and 23 April, and during the first week, nine community groups and five schools organised litter picks in partnership with the Neighbourhood Team across Redbridge.

We were delighted to see so many people turn up for our South Woodford event. You never know who’s going to be there, and it was great to see families, our councillors and groups of friends, as well as people by themselves – we even had a picker in a pushchair!

Everyone was speaking to each other within minutes and it was great to see the community coming together. Councillor Beverly Brewer (South Woodford, Labour) came along to help and said: “I was delighted to be able to join so many neighbours for the recent litter pick. All credit to the South Woodford Society for taking this initiative. I am optimistic that the extra £1 million that the council has invested in street cleaning will make South Woodford cleaner.”

Redbridge Council provided litter pickers, high-vis jackets and sacks for recycling and rubbish, and groups of volunteers litter picked through five busy routes. George Lane, the Woodford High Road and the verges by Charlie Brown’s Roundabout were all targets for the litter heroes.

The volunteers picked up litter enthusiastically for over an hour and a half. It was hard to get them to stop! There must have been at least 30 rubbish sacks that we left in piles alongside the bins, and lots of recycling too. We found car number plates, a pair of expensive sunglasses and shoes – neatly placed together on the kerb. Cigarette butts were everywhere and it’s as if people don’t realise they are littering when they throw them away. But they are! If only smokers would use the bins or the very cheap pouches you can get these days.

It is also worth mentioning the council planning notices left to rot on lamp posts, as well as the lost pet posters. It was so sad to think of all those pets still missing but hopefully, most of them have been found now. It would be so helpful if everyone who puts the posters up – including the Planning Department – could come and take them down again.

Sadly, the volunteers were unable to do anything about chewing gum, but the good news is that the Redbridge  Our Streets Neighbourhood Team are looking into a number of options to alleviate this problem, such as a chewing gum bin trial at South Woodford Station or a gum cleaning machine – so we may start to see some improvement in the amount of gum on the streets during the summer.

Councillor Clark Vasey (Churchfields, Conservative) said: “It was great to see so many local residents take to the streets to clean up their own area. While Woodford might not be high on the council’s priorities, it is clear how much residents care and the piles of bags of rubbish at the end of the spring clean shows just what a difference people who care about their area can make.”

Lots of people approached us to spur us on and to ask when the next litter pick will be so that they can be involved. It’s always hard to get everyone to know about these events but we’ll do our best to get the word out for the next event, so please check our Facebook and Twitter pages for the latest information, and if you are not a member, please send in your details to join our email distribution list.

London Hearts is a charity placing defibrillators in communities across the country. Kimberley Lloyd encourages South Woodford businesses and venues to apply for a life-saving device of their own

The biggest killer in the UK is not smoking, alcohol abuse or even road traffic accidents; it’s cardiac arrest, an electrical malfunction of the heart that results in over 100,000 deaths each year.

When a cardiac arrest occurs, time is of the essence. The patient needs to be stabilised and kept alive until the ambulance arrives.  Unfortunately, the stats are not in the patient’s favour, as for each minute lost after arrest there is a 10% loss of life expectancy, and as the average UK ambulance arrival time is eight to 10 minutes – well, you do the maths!

The availability and usage of a public access defibrillator means the chance of survival from cardiac arrest increases from 6% to an amazing 74%. You never really want to be more than 100 metres from an available defibrillator.

London Hearts is a charity committed to providing individuals and communities all over England with life-saving defibrillators to protect as many people as possible. The charity deals with the procurement and supply of the defibrillators and supporting equipment, as well as incidentals, including problem-solving and free CPR and awareness training, which is often the hidden cost providing a financial sting in the tail when a defibrillator is sourced via the retail market.

Not all defibrillators are the same, of course, as there are lots on the market. It is important to ensure that the one chosen is fit for purpose and also quickly accessible and usable, whether it be an adult or child who needs attention.

In reality, anyone can use a defibrillator – it is simply a matter of confidence. Any training is a matter of familiarisation. The defibrillator is so advanced that it literally talks the user through the procedure. Be assured, it is impossible to deliver a shock to a patient not in cardiac arrest, so there is no question of making the patient any worse or incurring any liability.

You can find out where your nearest defibrillator in South Woodford is by downloading the GoodSAM app and typing in your postcode.

Where possible, we recommend that all defibrillators are public access and encourage all businesses, schools and sports clubs to have one in their facilities. You can apply for a defibrillator on our website and we are offering a £500 grant towards all applications from the South Woodford area.

Redbridge Council has unveiled plans to bring waste collections back in-house by ending its contract with Amey and creating a new council-owned company to manage the service.

“This is a huge win for the borough as it ends our reliance on a private company,” said the council leader.

Two South Woodford residents will be making final touches to their gardens in May and June as they prepare to open their gates to the public for the charitable National Garden Scheme (NGS).

Helen Auty of 46 Cheyne Avenue will be taking part in the initiative for the seventh time when she welcomes visitors to her fruit and vegetable garden on 7 July (12 noon to 5pm; entry: £4). While Laura Piercy-Farley of 25 Mulberry Way will open her Italian patio-style garden for the first time on 14 July (1pm to 5pm; entry: £3).

Helen and Laura are among 3,500 gardeners in England and Wales taking part in the scheme. “Thanks to the generosity of owners, volunteers and visitors, we have donated a total of £55m to nursing and health charities, and made an annual donation of £3.1m in 2018,” said an NGS spokesperson.

Changes to parking regulations at Sainsbury’s in South Woodford will come into force on 7 May.

The new rules will require shoppers who use one of the 298 car parking spaces to spend at least £5 in store in order to receive a parking voucher. Drivers will then be required to scan the voucher at a kiosk in the foyer and to enter their vehicle registration number to authorise two hours of free parking. Shoppers spending less than £5 at the George Lane supermarket will be allowed to park for up to 15 minutes without the need to validate their parking.

“We are doing this to enable the genuine customers of South Woodford Sainsbury’s to be able to shop and park where they want, when they want, as currently this isn’t that case,” said store manager Mark Twell.

The changes will apply Monday to Saturday from 7am to 10pm and Sundays and Bank Holidays from 10am to 4pm.

“If you have any questions, please ask one of our colleagues, who will be happy to help”.

Call 020 8989 8224

South Woodford Library will be taking part in the nationwide 30th birthday celebrations for Elmer the Patchwork Elephant this May.

“For 30 years Elmer has stood for accepting who you are and celebrating difference. We are all different… The differences are what make the world so rich. It’s strange, because we humans seem to like difference in other things, in dogs and trees and flowers, but we don’t accept it in people. If people aren’t like us, we don’t accept them. Elmer tried to be like the other elephants, but in the end, he has to be himself,” said author and artist David McKee, who first published Elmer in 1989 and went on to write 39 follow-up titles. Over 8m copies have been sold worldwide.

Elmer Day is on 25 May, with the library offering free elephant-themed craft activities for four- to 12-year-olds and creating Elmer-coloured milk cartons from 11am to 12 noon. Celebrations will also take place at Woodford Green Library from 10.30am.

Call 020 8708 9067

Businesses in the George Lane and Woodford High Road areas got together in April for the South Woodford Business Forum’s (SWBF) latest meeting. The forum – which was re-established last year to improve communication and provide support for high street traders – was also attended by local councillors and a representative of Redbridge Council, the South Woodford Society and Churchfields Ward Panel.

“At the meeting, Krisztina Vamos (Redbridge West Neighbourhood Engagement and Education Officer) and Councillors Rosa Gomez and Clark Vasey listened to businesses’ concerns about littering, homelessness and traffic,” said an SWBF spokesperson.

The next forum is scheduled for 12 July at 11am in the Sainsbury’s meeting room.

Email swbf@swvg.co.uk