The issues that link women, health, equality and the environment will be explored at an East London Soroptimists’ event in South Woodford on 18 June. “What’s being a woman got to do with the environment?  And what can women do about climate change? The answer is a lot!” said a spokesperson for the group, which is part of Soroptimist International, the world’s largest women’s organisation. The presentation at the Woodford Memorial Hall (7.15pm; free; booking required) will be led by Kate Metcalf, co-director of the Women’s Environmental Network, which was founded in 1988 to offer a different way of thinking about and acting on environmental issues, using the perspectives and voices of women. “Come along and join the conversation!” Visit swvg.co/womenenviron...

Redbridge Council is in the running to become Local Authority of the Year 2019, having been shortlisted for the title in the Municipal Journal (MJ) Achievement Awards. “The MJ Awards is a chance to recognise the extraordinary work of local councils across the country,” said MJ editor Heather Jameson. The awards – which have run since 2004 – are judged by ‘influential people from both the private and public sector’, with the winner to be announced at an awards ceremony in June....

The Mayor of London and Redbridge Council have provided Oakdale Junior School with a £10K grant for the installation of air purifiers in classrooms to help protect against exposure to pollution. It follows an assessment by independent experts, who spent three months at 50 schools across the capital studying indoor and outdoor pollution sources before making a series of recommendations to protect pupils. Cash from Sadiq Khan’s clean air fund is being matched by the council....

Plans to expand the South Woodford Muslim Community Centre on Mulberry Way were approved by Redbridge Council in April. “We will now be undertaking the detailed design of the building, in which we will work more on the facade and materials… There is currently no start date, but I expect it will be within the next year, and I expect the time frame to be around 12 to 18 months,” said Shahed Saleem of Makespace Architects. Following demolition of the existing single storey building, a three-storey structure with a basement will be erected, with the community centre and place of worship occupying the ground floor and basement and four flats on the upper floors. The larger building will retain the current maximum occupancy of 250...

The newly formed Woodford Arts Group will hold its inaugural exhibition at Packfords Hotel in Woodford Green from 31 May to 2 June. The Snakes Lane West venue – which has been run by the Packford family for over 40 years – will be serving afternoon tea on 1 June. “The group was set up in December 2018 to bring local artists together in order to support each other and find ways to show their work. The initial call out has been a great success, and our members range across all the arts,” said founding member Julia Brett. The group includes painters, printers, photographers, ceramicists and sculptors, with the upcoming exhibition set to be the first of many displays and activities in the local area....

As part of Local History Month, Lynn Haseldine Jones will be leading a walk around Snaresbrook to discover the history of this commuter suburb, starting with the Georgian period and then looking at later developments in Victorian and Edwardian times. Here, the local historian describes some of the sites that will be visited. Photo of Snaresbrook Crown Court by Geoff Wilkinson We begin at Snaresbrook Station, where the railway first came in 1856. Changing the nature of the village from a predominantly Georgian settlement to a bustling Victorian suburb, there is still evidence of the Great Eastern Railway, hardly noticed by passengers on the busy Central Line. Along Hollybush Hill are a few Victorian houses. Mornington Lodge has changed its name to Kingsley Grange, but Staffa...

Following East London Wine School’s recent launch at Wanstead Golf Club, school director and wine expert Sam Alder explains why a trip to the Aosta Valley left a pleasant aftertaste that lingers to this day So, how did I end up working in the wine industry and owning a wine school? Not a traditional career choice and certainly not an option on the career day at school! My first job was in banking. I loved it and suspect it was there I discovered wine. We ‘drank’ wine, a lot of wine, but only after work, of course! My passion for ‘tasting’ was thanks to some bad weather and a great sommelier. Halfway through our annual Italian ski trip there was an avalanche; the ski slopes...

To celebrate 50 years of the RSPB’s Local Groups, the North East London branch will be joined by the conservation charity’s president in South Woodford this June. David Littlejohns invites you to the party Big national organisations don’t always think too much about the local scene. But 50 years ago, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds was an exception, and so started its first Local Group, known as the Epping Forest Group. Others soon followed, and the idea has now spread so widely that there are over 140 RSPB Local Groups dotted all over the UK. So this year, on 14 June, we shall be celebrating having started this movement in 1969, and we have separated Miranda Krestovnikoff, the president of the RSPB,...

To mark Women’s History Month, an Eastside Community Heritage exhibition at Wanstead Library will uncover the stories of local women inventors this March. Judith Garfield reports The world of invention and enterprise has been male-dominated throughout history and the lives and creations of female inventors have frequently been overlooked, glossed over and ignored. Women have consistently had their contributions swept under the rug and hidden in the background while their male counterparts have stood in the foreground as standalone pioneers. Women from east London who were behind four revolutionary innovations – which changed the way we eat, dress, love and find our way home – have now had their stories discovered in our new exhibition. One such story was that of Phyllis Pearsall, who invented...

Libraries across Redbridge are being upgraded to improve online and interactive services for library users. “The new system will make it easier and quicker for residents to download eBooks and search for books and services online, as well as incorporating a brand new app so customers can access their library on the move… This is also an opportunity for budding authors and local publications to share their work online as the system change will give them access to online facilities,” said a spokesperson. During the upgrade – which is expected to be completed by mid-March – it will not be possible to renew items and a fine amnesty will be in place until the end of the month. Joining a library, using public computers and...

There are currently over 1,500 properties with a ‘high’ chance of flooding within the River Roding catchment between Stansted and the River Thames.

Margaret Pepper is one of many artists taking part in this year’s Woodford Festival. Here, the local painter explains what led her to produce what is often controversial work I have been asked to contribute some thoughts on the Woodford Festival art trail, in which I began taking part around 2008. To make some sense of my art, I need to explain my background. I was born male in 1944, lived near Soho until 1967 when I moved to Woodford and got married. The first time I ever painted anything was around 1976, a period in my life when everything went wrong at the same time, and I found painting gave me a form of at least partial escape from my troubles.By the beginning of 2002, I suddenly found...