The Pastures site has a hidden pond which has been neglected and inaccessible for a number of years. It lies within the Community Garden next to the Good Shepherd Building. The garden area is managed by the community garden volunteer group and is now well established.
A new pond viewing deck and some rainwater harvesting is the next project for the garden development and will bring the pond into use, increasing access to nature on the site.
Viewing access to the pond will allow residents, community groups, schools and other individuals to be part of a habitat observation project, recording biodiversity species, plant life and pond water level patterns.
Our garden volunteers have been monitoring wildlife in the garden and intend expanding this to the pond, working with local organisations who have knowledge of pond biodiversity. The local organisations include Organiclea and The Wren Society.
The community garden volunteer group have secured community funding for this project from Groundworks London and have the support from the landowner, Waltham Forest Council, to build the deck. Completion is due by mid-January 2026 at the latest.
The project has two elements:
1. Building a pond platform deck
2. Water resilience
POND PLATFORM DECK
The deck will be a fully accessible, safe viewing platform with minimal disturbance to the wildlife and plants during construction . The design is a safe, robust platform using ecological materials. We have also specified tried and tested materials, and are working with a local specialist mini piling contractor (Groundsun Ltd) for the mini pile ground supports. The infrastructure team at Organiclea in Chingford will be helping too.
WATER RESILIENCE
We plan to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change by harvesting rain water. Harvesting will create water holding capacity, reduce run off and mitigate drought impacts. creating a more water resilient space.