Havering Friends of the Earth

Photo Gallery

Here are some photos from the archive, charting our activities since we re-launched in 2010; they're grouped roughly in reverse chronological order. Click on any image to see a larger version.

2020 and beyond

During the pandemic years most of our meetings were held online, but we did manage one or two in the open air at Langtons gardens. In April 2023 we were back in business, at Havering Green Streets' Eco Fayre in the courtyard. Then, in September, we were in the foyer at Queen's Theatre Hornchurch, for the première of their innovative production New Beginning. Sadly this was to be Jill's last appearance with HFoE.

Promotional Stalls pre-2020

We're always grateful for an opportunity to set up a stall in a building full of people! These snapshots show us at work in Waitrose, B & Q, and Thames Chase Forest Centre. Finally, our last public appearance before the Pandemic, on Global Climate Strike Day (20 September 2019) in Upminster town centre.

Bee Talks

We've given many talks about bee conservation, some in libraries open to the public, others at the request of local groups and societies. Here we see Rosina and Jill addressing the February 2015 meeting of the Over 50s forum, at the Town Hall in Romford.

Hustings Debate, 24 April 2014

In the run-up to the 2014 council elections, we organised a public meeting entitled "Question Time on the Environment", at which we invited party representatives to answer questions on environmental policy. Councillors attending were (l-r in photos): Keith Darvill (Labour), David Durant (Independent Residents), Clarence Barrett (Residents' Association), Steven Kelly (Conservative) and Lawrence Webb (UKIP). HFoE's Rosina chaired the debate. The panel's answers proved most interesting, and once again we gained a lot of publicity in the local press.

Bee Tea, 16 November 2013

We joined forces with the Contraband Singers (featuring our multi-talented members Ian and Jill) to stage a concert and "Bee Tea" at the Old Chapel, Upminster. The Mayor of Havering, along with some 65 other visitors, enjoyed an afternoon of excellent music and food - including some "bee cakes", made by HFoE's Lee.

Havering Show, 2011-2013

The London Borough of Havering's annual show used to incorporate a marquee with an environmental theme, called "Planet Havering" (sadly discontinued after 2013). HFoE's Val designed three very successful stalls; In 2011 we promoted our recycling campaign, while in 2012 and 2013 the focus shifted towards the Bee Cause. Colouring-in of bee drawings proved very popular among the younger visitors (as it does to this day!), while we encouraged their parents to pledge to plant bee-friendly flowers, and mark where they lived by placing a sticker on a street map.

Recycling Campaign, 2011

One of our first campaigns targeted both the government (to reduce non-recycled domestic waste by 50 percent) and our council (to increase the range of plastics its contractor accepted for recycling). Friends of the Earth produced a brilliant kit of printed images - dustbin, saw, and David Cameron's face - for local groups to stick onto shapes cut from corrugated cardboard. With the help of our Val's friend Jim (the man in a suit) we staged the dustbin stunt in Romford Market Place; later in the year we made our point about plastics outside the recycling plant in Rainham. Both events received good press coverage.