Front gardens on the front line – webinar recording and presentations
For years, homeowners have paved over front gardens – often for car parking – without realising they are harming their local area and the planet.
Front garden loss is not a trivial issue, but one that can directly affect our lives.
In fact, the explosion of paved areas is a major contributor to the misery of residential flooding, putting around one million properties in England at risk. Paving over even the smallest of front gardens also contributes to hotter cities, air and water pollution, and devastates the numbers of vital pollinators. Overlooked, apparently trivial, yet restoration of front gardens would be a simple but powerful tool to combat climate change. People often ask, ‘What can I do to help the planet?’ One answer is literally on their doorstep.
This was the subject we explored at our webinar in November 2024. You can see the recording, presentations and some great websites and resources where you can find out more, below.
Presentations from the speakers:
- Alice Roberts, Head of Campaigns, CPRE London (presentation Front gardens on the front line Nov 2024)
- Wendy Allen, founder of Wendy Allen Designs: Creative, biodiverse rain gardens consultancy & training (presentation Front Gardens (c) 2024 Wendy Allen Designs)
- Ari Cooper-Davis MSci, PhD. Hydrologist and Lead Platform Developer at Our Rainwater (presentation Our Rainwater Front Gardens Presentation)
- Paul de Zylva, Quaggy Waterways Action Group (QWAG) and London National Park City Front Garden, link below (presentation LNPC & Ealing Front Gardens Project presentation)
Find out more:
- Ealing Front Gardens Project hosted by London National Park City (including What You Can Do)
- Front Garden Friendly: Green the Grid
- RHS front garden guide
- Ealing front gardens summary leaflet 2021
- Leeds – Your front garden guidanceLB Hounslow – Your Front Garden
- DIY – How to build a mini drainpipe wetland
- RHS – Greening-Grey-Britain-report
- GLA Page – De-pave your front garden
SUDS – on-street rain gardens
- Map of rain gardens in London here. On this map you can view locations of sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) across London.