People across Canonbury, Islington, are responding to, and meeting the challenge of, a changing climate.
Beatrix Payne, who leads the volunteers who look after Canonbury Square, said even in their small patch the effect of climate change was obvious.
“Guidance that you read… from 20 years ago is slightly outdated, and the timings have shifted,” Ms Payne said.
She added this was making people more conscious of their natural environmental, with her group following RHS advice not to use artificial pesticides.
This meant the square had become “maybe a little bit less well kept, but attracts a lot of insects and butterflies”.
The Friends of Canonbury Square have also launched their new 2025 calendar, which features photos of the gardens at dawn, put together by two volunteers one evening down the pub. Copies have reached as far as Cape Town and the US.
Growing and maintaining green spaces is vital in responding to a changing climate
Islington’s lack of green, the borough has the third least in London, puts most of Islington and the whole of Canonbury at a “high climate risk”.
Almost a third of residents are denied direct access to green space.
Simon Linstead, co-founder of Trees for Streets, said cities, with all their heat-trapping concrete and asphalt, are particularly vulnerable to higher temperatures.
Mr Linstead said this “need to adapt to climate change” was the reason for starting his project which plants saplings in the area to provide cooling shade.
But these efforts have been affected themselves by global warming
Mr Linstead said everything from the choice of varieties to how often trees are watered is impacted.
Viv Fisher, who also works in Islington, with The Garden Classroom, which aims to connect locals with nature, said: “there is a need for us to notice that the pace of change is outstripping our ability to meet [it].”
Finlay is our Canonbury reporter. Their words have appeared in various student publications at Warwick University. They are always open to new stories and leads.