Earth Day 2024
Headline Date 22-04-2024
Earth Day 2024
Each year, Earth Day reminds us of the fragility of our planet and the urgent need to protect and preserve it for current and future generations. In this blog we look at some of the collective action, environmental and sustainability activity, and the connections people are making throughout the London Heritage Quarter footprint.
Healthy Streets
Sustainability is a major strand of our work focusing on transforming each of the Business Improvement Districts in the London Heritage Quarter footprint. This includes projects such as increasing the quantum of public green space and street trees, reducing traffic congestion, installing sustainable drainage systems, and improving cycling and walking routes and working with BID members and others to deliver these activities. Our projects range from fully transforming Strand Aldwych to assessing the carbon footprint of and community value of trees. To find out more about these projects, sign up to our newsletter.
Plastic free
Plastics get a bad rap overall due to their widespread use and often improper disposal that have far-reaching environmental consequences. Efforts to reduce plastic consumption and improve recycling are vital in mitigating these impacts and promote a more sustainable future. Many of our BID members are doing their bit. Strand Palace Hotel recently launched a partnership with Bottle Up whilst Landsec have a ‘Refill Me’ project among a suite of other resource efficient activity.
We’re also working Veolia to offer a 10%+ discount for commercial waste and recycling services. If you would like more information, please get in touch with Callum at info@thenorthbank.london
Cleaning Up
Our dedicated street cleaning team provide a daily litter picking, pavement washing and graffiti removal service that ensures our public spaces are welcoming and reflective of their prestigious locations. In The Northbank BID alone the team cleaned 1,986km of paving and collected 8,520 bags of rubbish last year! For any cleaning issues that need addressing outside your premises, you can contact our on-call cleaning service between the hours of 9am – 4pm by phoning 07934 845503.
Why not join our Smarten and Sparkle street cleaning events this year – a perfect team building exercise! We’re running two 60-minute sessions at 11am, one in The Northbank on Tuesday 18 June and one in Victoria on Thursday 20 June. To register your interest, please email info@london-hq.co.uk
Greenspaces and Nature Recovery
Throughout the London Heritage Quarter footprint greening groups are already doing their bit to improve their corner of Earth. At the Royal Courts of Justice, a green team comprising Court staff tends to plants and planters within the Court grounds. At the other end of the footprint is Tate Britain, part of the Tate family of galleries that has a staff gardening club. Workplace greening is also part of a wider local movement to improve biodiversity and help nature recover though with residents in Victoria tending to planters and greenspace too with our support.
We’ll be featuring all these groups as part of London in Bloom this year. Do you tend to a green space at work? Or want to tend to a greenspace? Get in touch and tell us what you do, where and why and we’ll add you to our London in Bloom showcase extravaganza that will kick off in June! Contact David at david.beamont@victoriabid.co.uk
Park. Life.
The parks and greenspaces in the London Heritage Quarter footprint play a vital role in enhancing our quality of life, promoting health and well-being, fostering community connections, and contributing to environmental sustainability and nature recovery. There are several public parks and greenspaces locally that are worth visiting throughout the year but especially now in Spring, such as Victoria Embankment Gardens that we recently highlighted on our LinkedIn page. How many of the following green spaces have you visited recently? Share your photos with us on social media!
- Victoria Embankment Gardens
- Victoria Tower Gardens South of Lambeth Bridge
- Temple Gardens
- Whitehall Gardens
- Christchurch Gardens
- St John’s Gardens
- Grosvenor Gardens (Upper and Lower)
- Ebury Square Gardens
Steeping Stones of Greening
Between the formal parks and spaces managed by Westminster City Council, there are several other green spaces and assets of different shapes and sizes, some also formal but others less so. Sometimes overlooked they are nonetheless an important component of the wider green fabric in the London Heritage Quarter footprint. How many of these have you visited? Share your photos with us on social media:
- Channel 4 Community Garden
- Nova
- Cardinal Place Roof Garden
- Parliament Square and surrounding planting
- The UN lawn
- Buckingham Gate planters
- The Broadway at Orchard Place
- London Heritage quarter planters, parklets and hanging baskets
Sustainable City Charter
If you’re a business in Westminster, you can now sign up to Westminster City Council’s Sustainable City Charter that encompasses many of the activities listed above and more. In a nutshell it is a business-led pledge activity spanning eight commitments for reducing carbon emissions from non-domestic buildings. Several businesses in the London Heritage Quarter area are signed up already.
To take the first step to becoming a charter signatory, visit the WCC website today and join the Charter!
Beyond Earth Day
If you’re looking for some novel ideas to take up after Earth Day, beyond those above, read the the Earth Day toolkit and let us know what you are thinking of doing so we can strengthen one another’s efforts.
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