Sustainable Living
While the moorings provide shore power, water, and a sluice to residents, all boats are by their nature conceived to minimise use of energy and allow independence of land-based services for as long as possible. Also, boats are characteristically excellent examples of designs that maximise storage and save space. The moorings are a community that shares resources, information, and services. Formal meetings and informal get-togethers ensure all matters are communicated amongst moorers and decided consensually.
The Allotment Barge
The heart of our gardening endeavours is our floating allotment barge, which was established in 2009 with the help of Shoreditch Trust and Capital Growth. Here we grow salads, vegetables, fruit, and herbs for our own use. We create our own compost and don’t use any pesticides. The allotment barge is a true community asset and a local attraction to boost, beloved by local residents and towpath users alike.
This floating garden also provides a habitat for bees, butterflies, ladybirds, lacewings, dragonflies, mayflies, and other insects vital for the waterside food chain, as well as offering perching space, cover and food for song and other birds.
Compost
We previously won a bid for a community composting scheme from Hackney Council, giving us state-of-the-art composting equipment, smell-free and efficient. This allows us to supply compost for all our own gardening & planting endeavours.
Wildlife
CHUG cares for, protects and enhances the wildlife in the basin and its environment.
When we first arrived in Kingsland Basin it was abandoned, surrounded by low sheds and buildings accommodating light industry and brownfield sites. Over the last thirty years we have worked to conserve the wildlife and improve conditions for wild plants and animals to thrive: we plant trees and shrubs to create safe nesting sites for birds and bats, and install boxes and feeders. We sow wild flowers, and create beetle banks. Kingsland Basin has transformed into an oasis of green within the city, and has become a haven for insects, song and sea birds, bats, amphibians, fish and shellfish.
Focal points of our efforts have been:
- The seams of the (former brownfield) sites along basin, where wild trees and shrubs used to grow
- The so-called ‘island’ in the southwest corner of the basin, formed with dredging material in the 1980s
- Pots and planters along our pontoons and walkways
- The public towpath
The last decade has seen all but a few trees and bushes in the basin lost to housing developments, with many habitats destroyed during the construction works. Now that development on the majority of sites is complete, we are determined to re-create shelter for wild plants and animals. We are committed to contribute to biodiversity in this urban setting, and believe that an environment in which wildlife is thriving is a community asset, giving visual and spiritual uplift to all able to enjoy it. Our ultimate aspiration is to see the return of the kingfisher.
Capital Bee
In the past we received a Capital Bee grant, an exciting prospect for increasing biodiversity in the local area. The keeping of bees provided a boon to the pollination of plants veg and flowers in the surrounding area, any local resident with a window box benefited from bees tending their crop. We hope to revive our bee project as a great educational feature for school children and canoe groups that come into the basin.
