Welcome to the London Blue Chain home page, where you can keep up to date with the latest news and updates from the team. The London Blue Chain project kicked off in Spring 2024, and will be running for 3 years. Read on to find out more, sign up to our newsletter, and discover ways to get involved!
WHAT IS THE LONDON BLUE CHAIN?
The London Blue Chain project is all about creating and improving habitats for amphibians and reptiles and giving opportunities for local communities to get involved with nature on their doorstep. It’s based in South East London over the boroughs of Bexley, Greenwich, Bromley, Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth and will be running from Spring 2024 for three and a half years.
Our Froglife team have set out to protect the native species of amphibian and reptile found in south east London, including common toad, great crested newt, grass snake and slow worm. And these species need our help. Particularly in urban areas, freshwater habitats have massively declined, and pollution, disease and invasive species have all had a big impact.
By creating and restoring 100 ponds we can create a network, a ‘blue chain’, of joined up habitats that’s not only beneficial to amphibians and reptiles but a wide range of other wildlife species including birds, small mammals, plants and invertebrates.
And the wildlife is only half of the picture. From grass snakes and common toads to youth clubs, schools and allotments – we’re all London residents! In urban environments our ability to access nature is disconnected, sporadic and unequal. We particularly want to engage groups that are under-represented in nature, to strengthen their connection to the natural world and empower them to get out there and start enjoying the benefits of being in nature.
Through all of our activities we want to invite a sense of collaboration, learning, respect for nature, creativity, and importantly – fun! We know that by working together within communities we can make a lasting impact on our threatened native species and the lives of those who live alongside them.
WHERE IS THE LONDON BLUE CHAIN?
Based loosely on the route of the Green Chain walking route, we’ve plotted some of the existing blue spaces that can be found along and around it across the boroughs of Bexley, Greenwich, Bromley, Lewisham, Southwark and Lambeth.
The interactive map below shows existing and planned sites for new ponds and wildlife habitats. We’re currently in the process of updating this map to add as many ponds as possible! If you know about any additional existing ponds in our six boroughs (Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Bromley and Bexley), let us know at londonbluechain@froglife.org. Mapping existing ponds will allow us to target our activities to create wildlife corridors, providing the greatest benefit to our species!
(We recommend viewing the larger map by clicking on the button in the top right of the map box.)
WHO ARE WE?
The London Blue Chain team is made up of a Project Manager, Harry Forshaw, and three London Blue Chain Project Trainees – Isabella Bromfield, Mariam Turay and Rose Williams.
But we can’t do it alone! We’re recruiting hundreds of volunteers, including 165 London Blue Chain Guardians – local residents who will learn about pond health, species ID and more, so that they can care for our new and restored blue spaces and habitats long after the life of the project, ensuring a lasting impact.
If you want to join us, we have many ways you can get involved, such as building ponds and habitats, helping us create content (videos, podcasts, photos), attending training sessions, surveying with the Dragon Finder app and more. See below for more information on getting involved!
HOW IT STARTED
The London Blue Chain project has been possible with thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Here is our grant journey:
- Nov 2021 – Project conception. Froglife submit development phase grant application to National Lottery Heritage Fund
- 2022 – 2023 – Project development. Discussions with local authorities and other landowners. Stakeholder and community engagement. Outcome mapping regarding creation of ponds and community engagement
- Aug 2023 – Grant approval
- Feb 2024 – Project launch
- May 2024 – Project team hired and get to work!
OUR ACTIVITY
What we’ve been up to so far in 2024…
- Inspiring young people, delivering creative and practical sessions to schools, colleges and youth centres.
- Digging ponds: With a target of 100 ponds, the team are moving a lot of earth! While diggers and contractors work on our 10 new large ponds, 85 small ponds and 5 medium ponds are being dug, one shovel at a time, with people power. If you fancy joining us for fresh air, physical exercise and habitat creation – drop us an email!
- Recruiting and training London Blue Chain Guardians. We want to empower people to take care of their local ponds, build more, provide habitat for species, and enjoy their local blue spaces, so we’re running workshops to upskill adults on topics such as amphibian and reptile ID, Pond 101, wildlife gardening and more!
- Spreading the word. We’re reaching out to local groups, councils, schools and more to get the word out about the London Blue Chain, create relationships, and to put our often overlooked native amphibian and reptile species front of mind when people are making decisions about their outdoor spaces.
- Conservation sessions. The trainees are getting fabulous hands-on experience conserving natural spaces for people and for nature at Lesnes Abbey Woods. With so many brilliant “Friends of” groups in south east London, why not seek out activity in your area and make a difference to your local space.
GET INVOLVED!
If you’re passionate about London’s amphibians and reptiles and want to support Froglife’s ambition to connect people with nature, you’re just what we need as part of the London Blue Chain volunteer team!
Individuals – Practical conservation and project support
Over the next three years, we’ll be engaging hundreds of volunteers for all sorts of activities. If you’ve got a passion – or a curiosity! – for amphibians and reptiles and have some time to spare, get in contact. Let us know where you’re based, any particular skills you may bring, and what you’re looking to get out of it. Much of our volunteering work will be physical habitat creation – digging and restoring ponds particularly. Froglife can repay public transport expenses within London. Email londonbluechain@froglife.org to get in touch. And remember, no previous experience is necessary!
London Blue Chain Guardians
In addition to volunteering opportunities, we’ll be recruiting 165 London Blue Chain Guardians, based around the sites of our new ponds. Enthusiastic local people will receive training on topics such as species ID, pond health, and wildlife gardening. This means that far after the project life of 3.5 years, there will be embedded local knowledge to protect and enjoy these ponds for generations to come! Want to become a London Blue Chain Guardian? Email us at londonbluechain@froglife.org.
Schools, colleges, community centres for young people
Looking for a fun, creative and nature-filled session for young people in your organisation? Thinking of a pond in your own outdoor space? Froglife can deliver bespoke sessions for all ages, and for those lucky enough to have outdoor space, get young people involved in practical conservation such as pond and habitat building. We love finding creative ways to get kids excited about nature – like making these clay toads!
If your organisation is in one of our six London boroughs, talk to our team about how we can deliver memorable and fun sessions for young people by emailing londonbluechain@froglife.org. Our team are DBS checked.
Adult groups
Do you belong to a group that wants to use nature to bring members together, learn, create and have fun? We know that being in nature and encouraging a connection to our local environment can have a positive effect on people’s mental health and sense of belonging. We are particularly looking to work with groups that are underrepresented in nature and conservation work.
You might be a ‘friends of’ group for a local green space, a mental health support group, a food bank, a refugee organisation, a gardening club – or anything else! If you’re in one of our six London boroughs and want to find out how we can work together, email londonbluechain@froglife.org.
Allotments, housing developments and landowners
Are you looking to improve your space for wildlife and bring people together? London Blue Chain is working with a number of allotments, housing developments and landowners to bring together communities through building and caring for habitats for wildlife.
If you’d like to learn more, email londonbluechain@froglife.org.
Citizen science – Dragon Finder
Seen something cool? We want to know!
What’s that species? Let’s find out!
Citizen science is enormously important in conservation work – it allows us to have eyes and ears all over the country. The Dragon Finder app was developed by Froglife to make this super simple, and can guide you through species ID and species reporting with a couple of clicks.
You might well see something important – whether it’s a population of reptiles and amphibians where previously we had no records, or a cheeky invasive species like the terrapins in wildlife ponds.
Download the app here!
Sounds of an Underwater World
A particularly special event and activity we hosted during the development phase, at the glorious Greenwich Peninsula Ecology Park, used hydrophones to stream and record the weird and wonderful sounds happening underwater in our ponds. Lots of people of all ages and backgrounds joined us and were surprised by what they heard and inspired to recall memories of their nature experiences and insights about why these experiences are so important. As well as the underwater sounds, we recorded interviews with participants and have created a sound piece which weaves the two together, and you can now listen to it using the audio player below!
We’re grateful to The Conservation Volunteers for hosting our event at the Ecology Park, the sound artist Tom Fisher (@actionpyramid) for leading the session with his expertise and equipment and, most importantly, all the interested and willing event visitors and participants!
CONTACT INFO
Want to keep up to date on the London Blue Chain?
For any enquiries, or to join our London Blue Chain newsletter mailing list, email us at londonbluechain@froglife.org
And don’t forget to subscribe to Croaks, the Froglife monthly e-newsletter, and follow us on social media!
Using money raised by National Lottery players, The National Lottery Heritage Fund supports projects that connect people and communities with the UK’s heritage. The London Blue Chain is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to launch this project to create and restore 100 ponds with local communities, transforming habitats and transforming lives across south east London.
