We recognize that there is a growing movement to transform urban waterways into green corridors. We have named this movement Living Water Cities. Through our work designing and making Floating Ecosystems we have the privilege of constantly meeting people who are working tirelessly to enhance the ecosystem and wellbeing benefits that our green/blue veins provide to urban environments.  This is a movement we are thankful to be a part of and committed to furthering as much as we can.

London has over 600km of waterway. About 5% of this (29km) is considered rewilded. We would love to see this figure boosted to 20% by 2022. That’s why we put on a Living Water Cities London Event. The world of urban rewilding is an ecosystem in itself, a complex mixture of fascinating people forming creative bonds with one another in order to transform the way in which humans interact with nature. The LWC London event brought together many of the key innovators linked to the restoration of London’s waterways for a compelling day of talks and workshops.

The LWC London event hosted one of the world’s most influential bio-inspired architects, Michael Pawlyn, talking alongside ecologists from the Environmental Agency, Thames 21, and the Canal & River.  There were also talks from leaders of local community groups who take time out from their daily lives to take responsibility for the health of their local waterways.

By giving all of these voices a place on the same stage we start to see a much more inclusive (and exciting) vision of public space emerge.  A space in which members of the public have access to municipal funding to ecologically enhance the spaces they know better than anyone else.  They can draw on information from highly experienced ecologists and use the very best ecological engineering technology to open up the space for other species.

The day allowed us an insight into the challenges and developments in each discipline and for interdisciplinary collaboration.  It felt like the development of a truly collaborative model for ecological placemaking. Countless projects have contributed to this movement and we hope this event has inspired many many more. 

Our dedication to this cause takes the form of events planning, resource provision, networking, community discounts and the constant research and development of new ways of helping local ecologies.

If you are interested in setting up a group in London, volunteering for an existing group or contributing to a Living Water Cities event in your own city, please get in touch with Jack Cardno at [email protected]