Local children plant seeds for Olympic Park

The two classes from London Fields primary school in Hackney helped with planting to develop the grasslands and wildflower areas needed to create the ecology area. The schoolchildren will be invited back as the project develops to see how their plants have grown.

The reserve at East Marsh wildlife runs along the banks of the River Lea creating a corridor around the northern edge of the Olympic Park site. The area covers more than 10,000 square metres.

It will become home to a variety of wildlife including birds, frogs, spiders and beetles, including endangered ground bugs and the protected toadflax brocade moth.

Head of Sustainable Development and Regeneration for the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA), Dan Epstein said: ‘We began an extensive ecology programme last year to identify and translocate a range of wildlife to new habitats and ensure that feeding and breeding habitats are not disrupted by the work to create the venues.

‘We want to make sure that the local communities are part of this process as these school children will be the ones using the venues and parklands long after 2012.’

The ODA has also created additional habitat space in the Waterworks Nature Reserve near Leyton, east London.

Read the full media release.