Very chuffed that my treepits got a silver certificate in the recent Islington in Bloom competition; they’re all ready for winter now and I’m hoping for lots of colour in the spring.

We’ve got together with Islington Clean Air Parents and organised a community bulb planting session on Saturday 29 October 2022. The bulbs will be yellow and blue to honour Ukraine – come and help us get them planted ready to come up in the spring in 2023 and every year. Meet us at the corner of Barnsbury Park and Liverpool Road 1000 – 1200; bring gloves, trowels and some cake to share.

x

Great news that JoyRiders are now running women-only rides in Islington; if you are a returner, need some confidence riding your bike or just prefer to cycle, chat and have a coffee with other women, this is just the ticket !

Come and join us for a super walk – and i-spy scavenger hunt – on the afternoon of 22 May. Led by Footways founder David Harrison with i-spy creation by Islington Clean Air Parents co-founder Rachael Swynnerton, this is a sociable and fun walk on our quiet streets from Highbury Fields to the Ecology Centre and Gillespie Park. Sign up here !

We would love to have a site visit to a street which fulfils the 5 criteria of a healthy street https://www.healthystreetsscorecard.london – all suggestions most welcome ! See the presentation on 21 April by Divya and Will on why a healthy street is a #ClimateSafeStreet https://wordpress.com/page/inspiringsustainableislington.org/863

Webinar with one of Islington’s climate safe street champions, Divya, and with Will from CPRE, one of six organisations making up the Healthy Streets Scorecard coalition. Learn how to score your street using the 5 principles of the scorecard ! More details here

In February 2021, we organised a webinar about active travel and our key speaker was Dr William Bird of Intelligent Health. He told us about Beat the Streets, a game to encourage people to explore their local area, on foot, by bike, on scooters collecting points along the way. Cllr Rowena Champion was there and was listening intently … so intently that, guess what, it’s launching in Islington on 23 March. More info here

On 28 June 2020, we posted that the Mayton Street parklet was under threat from the council. The plants have since not only survived but thrived under the careful eyes and green fingers of their creators – who hosted a group of visitors earlier in March 2022. In spite of the council’s recently-launched Greening Together initiative, the parklet is once again under threat. We need to be ready to protect it with common sense and compassion.

Connecting the NHS and health to the climate crisis with Melanie Etherton, a writer on active travel and healthy living.  Sign up for a digital, interactive hour on 15 March at 2000 ! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/connecting-the-nhs-and-health-to-the-climate-crisis-tickets-288101187407

Have a look at a video of a family cycling safely in one of our Low Traffic Neighbourhoods – such an upbeat chirpy account of why our LTNs need to be nurtured and rolled out across the borough ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkJW0QRYUuM&feature=youtu.be