For the last two months or so we have been meeting each other for local walks in various different parks including Valentines Park, Hainault Forest and Fairlop Waters.
This time round we visited Goodmayes Park, a nice park in Green Lane near Ilford, just down the road from our community centre. It is a good park, well it is Goodmayes Park. It has a nice lake, which is always a plus. It also is easy to get to from public transport routes and it is relatively quiet compared to other parks in the local area. So all in all for most people it is a pleasant place to visit for an afternoon.
The last time we came to this park as a group was January 2020. That was quite a while ago. I’ve been hoping to go to this park for months. I do enjoy this park not only because it’s pleasant little park but also because around 18 months previously, on Saturday 26th November, I helped plant trees there for a charity called Trees for Cities. They have projects all over the country in order to help wildlife and ultimately reduce carbon dioxide.
Today at the park there were nine of us from the group in total. That is a reasonable amount, not too many people.
When we finally met up, as many were curious about the trees I helped to plant, we ventured to a large field near to the play area. Behind the field was a forest of almost fully grown trees, planted at least 10 years earlier. In the field there were rows and rows of very small trees, well saplings. Some looked slightly taller than they were last time we came here but not significantly. That is just what you’d expect if they were planted just 18 months ago.
We eventually came out of the field of trees and walked around most of the length of the park admiring the flowers and trees or flora and fauna if you’d prefer. We saw many other fully grown trees, wild flowers and come across some mushrooms. Well there were three very big mushrooms sitting in the grass. All I can say is that there was not “much room” for them.
Some of us were eager to see the lake of the park. In most parks that is always the best bit mainly because of the ducks but also it is nice to see a lake or water feature of some description. Some of us attempted to take photos especially of the ducks and geese, whilst others try to catch a glimpse of them. There were many Canada geese as you would imagine and there were a very coots with their ducklings.
There was a nest near the middle of the lake obviously far from any predators. I also saw a tufted duck swimming around. A little something everyone should know, don’t feed the ducks and geese white bread. It can make them very ill. The best things to feed them are seeds and small fruit and vegetables such peas and sweetcorn. Hopefully people will be more aware of this as time goes on.
As we strolled alongside the lake we went over the bridge. You could see a nice view of the lake from either side of this bridge. As we approached the other side of the bridge we saw right in the corner was an Egyptian goose surrounded by other ducks. The colours make it look amazing. They are becoming more common than you think in most local parks.
Everyone had a very enjoyable afternoon and is hoping to do another walk very soon, Goodmayes Park it very high up on the list to do again.
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