Greening Sebert Road

We’re supporting residents of Sebert Road, Newham, to bring about their positive vision for their neighbourhood. With more trees and less traffic, together we can create a safer and more climate-resilient environment for local people to enjoy and to feel proud of.

Jump to: [Visions for a greener Sebert Road] [Show your support]

Newham is the second-most vulnerable area to extreme heat in the UK.* At the same time, it has one of the lowest levels of tree canopy cover in London, making it particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures and heat-related impacts.

So at the start of this year, we teamed up with the University of Westminster’s Active Travel Academy to learn from residents of three priority neighbourhoods in Newham to learn about their experiences of living through heat waves and extreme weather, and to explore how (and whether) they would like to change their streets to make them more climate resilient.** Sebert Road, which experiences a particularly high Urban Heat Island effect and very little access to green space is one of the three priority areas we’ve been working in.

This is what residents of Sebert Road, Forest Gate, told us:

Off the back of these workshops, residents of Sebert Road, began to organise their own hyper-local campaign to improve their street.

By narrowing a dangerously wide junction with rain gardens and greenery, speeding vehicles will have to slow down to turn, enabling safer crossing. This will also help to alleviate puddling during rainfall and improve the environment.

Installing rain gardens outside the school will prevent the every day occurrence of illegal parking on the keep clear lines, making it safer for pupils going to and from school. The rain gardens will reduce flood risk and trees will provide additional shade to benefit all those who use the street.

With our support they have created visions for the changes they would like to see.

Do you live in Forest Gate or in the wider London Borough of Newham?

Do you use Sebert Road as a walking, wheeling or cycling route?

Complete the form below to show your support for a greener Sebert Road.

*Newham is the second-most vulnerable area to extreme heat in the UK and one of the worst affected boroughts for the Urban Heat Island effect —a phenomenon where built-up areas are significantly warmer than their surrounding rural environments. The Urban Heat Island effect occurs because dark, hard surfaces such as roads and buildings absorb and retain solar heat, while limited vegetation reduces natural cooling processes that trees and other greenery can provide 

**Priority areas were selected based on data from our interactive map which considers high Urban Heat Island effect, lack of access to green space, low tree canopy, and other relevant factors. We know that some of our most under-served communities are the people most exposed to extreme heat - and that’s why we’re asking councils to focus planting where it will make the biggest difference. You can find out more about the project at wearepossible.org/street-trees-project.