Green London: Nature Suffering in the Drought

I often write that London is one of the world's greenest cities, but it is now far less green than it should be. We might not be experiencing wildfires here, but everywhere is suffering in the extreme heat. The photos on this page show expanses of brown grass, a river far lower than it should be, and ducks in the mere puddles that remain of their dried-up lake.

A few years ago I walked part of Waterlink Way through South East London following the Pool and Ravensbourne rivers. It was a idyllic corridor of natural beauty running throught the city, and you can see what it looked like here. Last weekend I decided to continue the walk to the Thames, then under it by the Greenwich foot tunnel. It still took me through urban nature reserves, parks and beside flowing water, but it was tragic to see how much plants and wildlife are struggling in the heat.

What makes it even more poignant for me is that I did my earlier walk as part of an eco-awareness project, involving writing to hightlight the problems of climate change and other environmental issues.  I hope this post continues to do that.

We can all do a bit to help by conserving water. Personally, I'm not flushing the toilet every single time I go for a wee. If everyone one reduced their number of flushes, it would make a bit of a difference. I'm also leaving bowls of water out in my garden for birds and animals. I know there's still more I could be doing, and I'd welcome comments with suggestions how how we can all do our bit.

London's 'Green' Places Pictured

• Woman and Fish statue at Millwall Park with London's Docklands skyline in the background
• The lake at Brookmill Park. If you look closely you can see a sad looking duck at the edge. This park also contains a small nature reserve
• The Ravensbourne river at Lewisham, SE London
• Island Gardens, which is next to the Thames on the north side of the Greenwich foot tunnel.

I regularly write Green London posts to show that the city isn't all concrete. It has many parks, commons, woods, nature reserves and other places where nature usually thrives.

Other Previous Related Posts

https://www.badwitch.co.uk/2026/06/green-london-bloomsburys-secret-gardens.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/07/green-london-strange-things-in-soho.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/07/green-london-st-jamess-park-ghost-and.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/06/green-london-lincolns-inn-fields.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/06/green-london-great-plane-in-brunswick.html