Canada Dock boardwalk opens with nature-themed party

British Land welcomed around 2,500 people to Canada Dock to celebrate the opening of the new boardwalk on Saturday 2nd of November.

The event featured a carnival procession with giant puppet performers dressed as swans, butterflies, ducks and bees in honour of the newly created wetland habitats within the revitalised Canada Dock.

Young people from the area did the honours to start the celebrations. Generators from local charity Global Generation stepped up alongside an apprentice who worked on the revitalisation to cut the ribbon and declare the boardwalk officially open. The local community then took the first walk along the 170m red timber structure, led by the eclectic and highly mobile Brixton Chamber Orchestra.

The afternoon continued with family fun including lantern and bee-making workshops, live music, jugglers, face painting, popcorn and candy floss tricycles, and a bar run by local cocktail connoisseurs Strongman’s Tipple. Making the most of the darker evenings, performances from the Umbrella Project and the LED Drummers lit up the event. The Umbrella project combined the classic British accessory with colourful LEDs to create a kaleidoscope of moving lights, while the LED Drummers combined light, movement and rhythm to mesmerising effect. The light theme was continued with the switch-on of the area’s winter lights – four large 3D stars that will shine on into the new year, along with fairy lights illuminating the trees lining the south edge of the dock.

The show was stolen, however, by local children working with London Bubble Theatre Company, who wrote and performed their own play about the dock and the history of the area.

The new boardwalk, designed by worldrenowned architect Asif Khan, is part of British Land’s revitalisation of the historic Canada Dock. The project has been undertaken in partnership with the London Wildlife Trust and other conservation specialists following extensive consultation with local people. The wetland itself provides a habitat to attract bugs, birds and other wildlife, with steps down to the water’s edge, seating and the new boardwalk helping people get up close to nature.

The boardwalk stretches for 170m across waters that once welcomed cargo ships from across the Atlantic. It brings together the history of Canada Water with the nature for which the area is known.

People using the boardwalk will cross the dock edge by stepping from timber to timber, following in the footsteps of the rafters who hopped between floating deal planks in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The walkway also snakes past the recently renovated Deal Porters sculpture that celebrates the workers who once plied their trade in the bustling Surrey Commercial Docks.

A wetland home for wildlife

As well as improving connectivity across the dock, the boardwalk allows people to get close to the three new wetland habitats the developers have been creating in partnership with groups including London Wildlife Trust, Townshend Landscape Architects, and ecologists from Southwark Council. These have been designed to sustain a more biodiverse community of insects, birds and other wildlife, including dragonflies, butterflies, frogs, kingfishers, ducks and swans. Seven wetland islands and more than one kilometre of shallow edges provide a haven for these creatures, with reedbeds and over 24,000 new trees, shrubs and flowering plants providing a mosaic of different habitats to maximise biodiversity.

Along with the boardwalk, steps down to the water’s edge and waterside seating will help people access the habitats, learn about the area’s heritage and ecology and enjoy the wellbeing benefits of spending time close to nature. An educational dipping pond will be added to the dock early next year.

Emma Cariaga, joint head of Canada Water at British Land, said: “The opening of the new boardwalk across the revitalised Canada Dock brings together the history and the wildlife that help make Canada Water such a special place, and gives people a way to experience them close-up. It was wonderful to celebrate this milestone with so many local people.” Councillor Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development at Southwark Council, added: “It’s amazing that the new boardwalk is already proving so popular with local people, as a new way to connect with wildlife, the area’s unique history, and each other. The renewal of Canada Dock is a key part of our plans to transform a historic London docklands location into a distinctive, new waterside town centre in partnership with British Land.” For more information on the revitalised dock, people can keep an eye on Canada Water’s social media channels: X: @CWmasterplan Insta/Facebook: Canada Water Masterplan

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