My thoughts on the approval of the new Lea Valley Ice Centre

Описание: With the new Lea Valley Ice Centre now approved, here are my thoughts on the impact it will have on Leyton Marsh, in this short film I focus what the effect will be on the local habitat. There have be many views put forward about this or alternative locations and about the pros and cons for the local community, carbon footprint etc, there are far more qualified people to talk about such matters, these are my thoughts and fears of what the new development will do to the local ecosystem.

For years I have watched wildlife on the marshes, with a particular fascination for reptiles. Having witnessed the sad loss of Common lizards at Walthamstow Wetlands and the disappearance of the Slow worm population at the Waterworks meadow. I’ve made it a personal quest to study, track and create refuge for Grass snakes, the one remaining local reptile species. With the local population increasing, this year I finally observed individuals moving from Walthamstow Marshes through Leyton Marshes to Hackney Marshes. The new Ice rink will cut off the corridor used for this journey and will have a grave impact on the success of the species locally.

Grass snakes that are filmed in hand where briefly caught and recorded as part of an ongoing study of the local population then returned to the location were I found them and the shrew was caught after being chased by a dog and moved to a nearby safe place.

While all species featured in this film (apart from the Slow worm an Common lizard which are shown to highlight local species lost in recent years) are present on Leyton Marsh, not all footage was filmed on site.