THE Land of the Fanns Landscape Partnership Scheme will celebrate the successful outcome of one of its environmental projects on Wednesday, 26 October as it joins with environment group Thames21 to mark London Rivers Week with an open event at Davy Down Riverside Park in Thurrock.

The celebration event at the park provides an opportunity for the local community and wider public to see and hear how the project, the Mardyke Valley Habitat Creation and Restoration, was developed, the lessons learnt, and to understand the benefits of a scheme such as this.

The Land of the Fanns Landscape Partnership is aimed at engaging the local communities of Havering, Barking & Dagenham, Thurrock, Brentwood and south-west Essex with the natural, geological, archaeological and built heritage of their area.

The partnership brings together a number of different partner organisations with a commitment to work towards a shared goal of enabling local people to discover, restore and enjoy what's special about the local landscape.

Residents are invited to join staff from both Land of the Fanns and Thames21 in planting semi-aquatic vegetation around the ponds on the day and pond dipping to find out what wildlife has already made the new habitats their home. Everyone is welcome to get involved. All equipment will be provided.

Thames21 was commissioned by the Land of the Fanns Landscape Partnership Scheme, financed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, to work with partners including the Thames Chase Conservation Volunteers, to develop and implement a freshwater habitat creation and floodplain restoration scheme within the Mardyke Valley.

The newly created wetland scrapes and ponds will provide food sources and habitat, improve water quality, increase flood storage, and will improve the conditions of the area, creating more opportunities for local people to use the area for recreation. Other partners in the project were Thames Chase Trust, Thurrock Council, The Land Trust and Essex & Suffolk Water, Forestry England, Environment Agency and South Essex Catchment Partnership: all playing a key role in the successful outcome of the project.

Land of the Fanns environment engagement officer Aisling Woodhead said ''It's really wonderful to see this project come to a successful end and be able to share it with the local community. London Rivers Week is the ideal way to celebrate the great work that has been achieved.

London Rivers Week is a partnership campaign run through London Rivers Restoration Group, a sub-group of the Catchment Partnerships in London. It is sponsored by Thames Water. Thames21 is one of the nine strategic partners in the Land of the Fanns.

The event is free and open to all. To sign up to attend or for more information, contact [email protected] or 07824491166, or [email protected] or 07826913307.