I'm Only Happy When It Rains

Since we went live with Wilder Greenwich in April, a lot has happened! This is an update on where things currently stand with our current projects and what our plans for the autumn and winter now look like.

First, and most obviously, we have had a summer of heatwaves and extended drought. After a relatively wet winter, we had a dry spring and then only a little rain in June and have had none at all in July. In combination with the very hot temperatures over the last two months, this has affected the Siebert Road and Westcombe Hill sites in predictable ways. As the pictures below show, when we carried out the Bio-Blitz at Siebert Road on 28th June, the vegetation was still quite lush with a variety of wild flowers and grasses showing; but now, a month later, the grasses have died back and only a few of the other plant species are still relatively thriving. It is a similar story at Westcombe Hill, though there ther great shade afforded by the quite extensive tree canopy means that the grasses are still a bit longer.

This serves as a good reminder that, when planning what we might hope to plant and when at our sites, we have to allow for the fact that our climate is becoming more extreme year by year. Another factor that is fundamentally important is the nature and condition of the soil into which we will be planting. We carried out some basic soil tests at both Siebert Road and Westcombe Hill in June and discovered that there is only 3-4 inches of topsoil, which sits over a hard-packed layer of construction rubble. How deep that layer is, we do not yet know; but as things stand it would be pretty unsuitable ground into which to plant hedging whips, unless we were able to do a lot of heavy-duty preparation and soil enrichment.

However, that problem may get solved, in part at least, through the environmental works being planned by the Royal Borough of Greenwich using the funds provided by Transport for London as part of the Silvertown Tunnel Enhancement Area (SITEA) programme. We have had conversations with RBG Highways Department, the landscape architects working on Siebert Road as one of the 6 SITEA sites and other stakeholders and we are hopeful that when the detailed plans are produced they may include provision for the sort of ground preparation and planting we have been envisaging, at least in the northern part of the site.

All of which serves to illustrate something which we have begun to learn even in the few short months that Wilder Greenwich has been "live": namely, that whatever our initial intentions are for a site, we have to remain flexible and be willing to adapt them as we learn more and as circumstances change. For example, our initial plan for both Siebert Road and Westcombe Hill involved planting native hedging parallel to the motorway fence. While some of this may still happen, we would have to find a way of dealing with the issues of soil condition and on-site water supply and assume that the mobile phone mast that a planning application has been lodged for at the northern half of Siebert Road does not go ahead. We have also decided, on further reflection, that it would not be sensible to plant hedging on the southern part of that site as the required 3 metre clearance gap from the motorway fence would place the hedge more or less halfway across the site and would look visually very odd.

From September onwards, we will be resuming regular litter picking at Siebert Road, Westcombe Hill and also Westcombe Park station. We will also be finalising our plans for winter planting, depending on the outcome of the many current unknowns outlined above. We will of course notify you of our working sessions and events and hope to see you then!

SIEBERT Road south, 28th June 2026

Westcombe HIll, 28th July 2026

SIEBERT Road south, 28th July 2026