Look north, and gleaming new towers resemble the skyline of Kuala Lumpur. Turn south, and you are transported into a bucolic corner of 18th-century England. Dense beds of reeds rise from the edge of a lake. A heron stalks the shallows. And if you arrive when volunteers are working on what could be the most exciting new urban nature reserve in the world, there is the surreal sight of a Suffolk Punch draught horse, hauling cut reeds from the marsh.
This is Woodberry Wetlands, a haven for wildlife, and people, which is being created out of the little-known east reservoir in Hackney: 17 acres of reed-fringed ponds, dykes and scrapes five minutes’ walk from the urban grit of Manor House tube station. At first, the contrast between the flashy and controversial new towers of Woodberry Down and the water beyond, fringed by venerable oaks including Hackney’s oldest, is bewildering. But both these landscapes are equally man-made, reflecting the ever-changing human geography of London.
The Guardian: 'Fencing people away from nature is bad'
Comments