Waste and recycling

The waste and recycling team contribute to the Climate Change Action Plan and Bexley Plan 2022 to 2026 ‘MakingBexleyEvenBetter’.

The fly tip prevention team is always hard at work keeping the borough clear of flytipping which protects and enhances our green environment as part of the Climate Change Action Plan. We also report into the Mayor of London Waste Reduction and Recycling Plans (RRP) annually. We also maintain and encourage our great team of volunteer litter pickers, many of whom litter pick in parks and open spaces, which preserves our biodiversity. This also contributes to the Climate Action Plan Statement to protect and enhance our green environment.

Flood prevention

We aim to incorporate biodiversity wherever we can when implementing our flood risk interventions, as creating blue/green spaces is a great way to reduce flood risk and provide wider biodiversity enhancements. However, this is something that we have struggled with, as while we may be able to bid for funding to install green infrastructure, there remains a challenge for funding the maintenance of these assets post-construction. Because of this, we haven’t been able to create as many of these assets as we would have liked.

We have successfully installed a rain garden in Bowness Road, Bexleyheath, to reduce the flood risk to the highway and residential gardens. This rain garden has been successful in reducing flood risk and providing a green space in the public realm.

Through the planning process, we strongly encourage developers to include blue/green infrastructure within their developments (such as blue/green roofs, swales, detention basins), to help manage surface water within their development and provide wider biodiversity benefits.

We are planning bids as part of the Thames Regional Flood & Coastal Committee (TRFCC) Natural Flood Management Programme (NFM). This would look to create further schemes to reduce flood risk by installing green infrastructure.

The Council provided its support to Port of London Authority (PLA) River Thames Biodiversity Net Gain Strategy, as part of the PLAs Bexley Tidal Thames Masterplan. The Strategy includes biodiversity baseline mapping and identification of habitat creation and river management opportunities along the Thames frontage and tributary corridors within Bexley. This leads to the strategic identification of habitat creation opportunities and supports off-site Biodiversity Net Gain delivery.

Biodiversity Offsetting Programme (Habitat and Grassland Creation)

The Council commissioned a biodiversity offsetting programme comprising habitat and grassland creation across four identified sites in the borough. The programme includes an establishment phase from autumn 2023 followed by a minimum 25-year maintenance and management period, which is due to commence in September, pending finalised legal agreements. This will create new habitats in line with recognised ecological standards, and long-term protection and management of biodiversity value.

Parks, Open Spaces and Biodiversity Management Contract

A long-term parks, open spaces and trees management contract was awarded to support ecologically sensitive maintenance and biodiversity enhancement across the borough’s publicly accessible green spaces. This will improve habitat conditions across parks and open spaces, and support our long-term stewardship of biodiversity assets.

Partnerships

The Council works closely with partner organisations and provides funding to support environmental improvement projects delivered by North West Kent Countryside Partnership and Thames 21, who work closely with volunteers and community organisations, supporting the conservation and enhancement of biodiversity across the borough.

The Council has worked collaboratively with partner organisations such as Peabody, Environment Agency and others both directly and through partnership meetings.

London Local Nature Recovery Strategy: the Council has worked pro-actively with the Greater London Authority (GLA) who are responsible for producing the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for London.

Updating Ancient Woodland inventory: the Council has worked with Greenspace Information for Greater London (GiGL) and Natural England to inform a review of Ancient Woodland within the borough, resulting additional areas of Ancient Woodland being included on an updated Natural England Inventory.

The Council has commissioned a review of all 62 Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) and the boroughs strategic green wildlife corridors to obtain and maintain up to date data on all land of nature conservation interest, irrespective of land ownership, within the borough, and to support future policies, plans and strategies for nature conservation and enhancement.

Riverside Gardens Regeneration: recent improvements to Riverside Gardens in Erith included wildflower meadow planting near play areas, supporting wildlife and residents connection with nature. We have also installed rain gardens in Riverside Gardens and Walnut tree road as part of the public realm design to soften highway edges, conserve rain water, assist in irrigation and reduce run off. We also installed community made bird boxes into Riverside Gardens and built habitats using recycled materials to support insects and solitary bees working with NWKCP. In addition to this, we are providing ongoing support to Friends of Riverside gardens to support their operations, fundraising, skills and programming.

The Council continued to apply Local Plan policies relating to Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) and ancient woodland across the borough as a material consideration in planning decisions. This supports the consideration of our most significant sites for nature conservation, priority habitats and species in decision-making, and the retention, management and enhancement of designated biodiversity assets.

Promoting events and campaigns through our varied communication channels

We work to build biodiversity awareness in a variety of ways. This includes promoting a range of events and projects through our internal and external communications channels, such as staff, resident and special interest emails; social media; our quarterly Bexley Magazine, and – where relevant - press releases. The events and projects promoted include publicising events and training, wildlife sightings, information on pests and diseases, and other environmental concerns affecting biodiversity such as litter, fly-tipping and fires.

We also support the promotion of Friends of Erith, a group which volunteers in the parks and open spaces in Bexley. Their activities include tree whip and bulb planting, litter clearing, maintenance of herbaceous borders, clearance of heathland, and maintenance and litter clearance along Bexley’s rivers.

We also use our communications to draw out and highlight the biodiversity dimension of our broader work. Examples include our funding bid for the Erith Garden Pier Project; our choice of construction materials in our regeneration of Riverside Gardens; and as an important factor in our campaign to stop fly tipping.

In 2025, Community Safety teams and the Youth Service have worked closely with the Metropolitan Police to support the protection of wildlife, and communicate the importance of preserving this nature, particularly swans and squirrels.

Staff authored an article on ‘Opportunities and Challenges Managing Urban Woodland’ in the Royal Forestry Society, Quarterly Journal, and hosted site visits from London  Wildlife Trust and Forestry Commission staff to exchange knowledge on conserving and enhancing biodiversity.

Staff also attended London Borough Biodiversity Forum meetings and represent Bexley on the London Tree and Woodland Partnership.

Work at Lesnes Abbey

We are proud to host and support a wide variety of biodiversity and nature conservation charities at Lesnes Abbey, who have achieved fantastic results for our borough. Our work with the charity Froglife is a great example. An agreement with Froglife has seen a new pond created at Lesnes Abbey Woods and other Bexley sites as part of their ‘Blue Chain’ lottery project. Froglife staff are based at Lesnes Abbey Woods 1 day per week and help to deliver practical conservation with a team of volunteers. Froglife have provided habitat management and species ID training.

Working with the Friends of Lesnes Abbey and Woods, we hosted a Woodland Festival in 2025 which was attended by an estimated 3000 people. Butterfly Conservation, Froglife, the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, and London Wildlife Trust, were amongst biodiversity focused organisations that provided information, walks and talks on the day.

We work closely with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust as a Flagship Site in their Buzzing in The East End project. As such they have provided on-site training to our staff and garden volunteers on bumblebee ecology, identification, recording and conservation.

We are also working with the Biological Recording Company as part of The Lesnes 500 project a series of free Field Recorder Days focusing on different species groups have been delivered. Species records will be used to guide site management and be made available through the publication of a book in 2026 to 2027.

Staff lead nature conservation volunteer workdays each week and help facilitate monthly workdays led by the Friends of Lesnes and Abbey Woods. Staff also promote biological recording and exchange data with Greenspace Information for Greater London, the regional biological records centre.

Staff liaise with Historic England on the management of Lesnes Abbey ruins ‘Scheduled Ancient Monument’ in order the maintain the building and the rare flora that grows on its walls. Likewise, we have a 5 year licence agreement with Natural England regarding the Abbey Wood SSSI which is designated for its fossils.

Promoting biodiversity education with our school pupils

We are working closely with schools to facilitate biodiversity as a key part of pupils’ education. For example, in the 2023/2024 school year, we funded one of our local primary schools to develop a meadow space aimed at encouraging biodiversity, and enhancing the children’s learning environment. In the 2024/2025 school year, we supported the same school to train a member of staff in Forest School practice, to help activate the meadow and make fuller use of the space. This is a great enhancement to the children’s biodiversity education. Additionally, our new and award-winning outdoor education and craft space ‘The Clearing’ hosts weekly Forest School sessions for home schooled and SEN pupils. The Clearing is also used to teach traditional woodland crafts using timber from the Wood, felled as part of conservation management.

We also run a gardening project for local children through our libraries, which is a fantastic support to their biodiversity education. Additionally, we were pleased to support the Summer Reading Challenge across all our communication channels and in our libraries this year, which was themed to ‘Story Garden’, encouraging children to read books about nature and wildlife, furthering their biodiversity education. We gave out free packets of wildflower seeds as rewards for reading, to further encourage their interest in biodiversity.

Promoting conservation skills for our young people and apprentices

We are also working to build biodiversity into the skills, opportunities and practices of our young people, to further embed crucial green skills into our borough. For example, we have worked closely with Capel Manor College providing site visits and work experience in practical nature conservation. Our Key Stage I & II schools education programme delivered by the North West Kent Conservation Partnership includes topics such as Rocks & Soils, and Habitats.

London Metropolitan University has used our facilities to run a 4-day workshop for its architecture students looking into design and the structural properties of timber from native tree species. Again, timber is harvested as part of woodland management benefiting biodiversity.

Lesnes Abbey Woods is partnering with London Metropolitan University and the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen on an Ecological Citizen(s) Network+ funded research project, ‘FORESTED’ (Future-Oriented Regeneration of Ecological Spaces through Timber, Education and Design). Connecting woodland management, in-situ use of harvested timber, and amenity access to woodland, the project will create a template for ecological citizenship in other community woodlands.

We are in discussion with Gristwood & Toms Ltd to use Lesnes Abbey Woods as a location for some of their arboriculture apprentice training. Providing practical training and habitat management.

Promoting biodiversity in our arts and culture programmes

As part of our 60 year anniversary celebrations – #CelebratingBexley – we funded an events called Wildlife Wanders with JD Swann, an artist with a fictional persona. This involved residents seeking out local wildlife, and was supported by our local art group, Bow Arts.

We are also currently finalising plans for two Night Visions events that celebrate our biodiversity - Night Visions is a celebration of local creativity that uses the theme of light to connect a series of unique events across the borough. The events ‘Beuys’ Acorns’ and ‘Night of the Basilosaurus’ are upcoming.