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How to go back to nature on your London commute: from tree hugging to bird spotting

Park life: the commuter sheep gazing: PA
Park life: the commuter sheep gazing: PA

The commuting club, one of London’s most hardy tribes, has just swelled in number. We now have commuter sheep. The animals are working a nine-to-five in Green Park, keeping the grass tidy, before going home for the evening to Mudchute Farm in Docklands.

People who work near the park are enjoying their new neighbours, visiting them at lunchtime and on the way to work. It’s part of a trial to revive wildflower meadows, backed by the Prince of Wales.

But it’s not just the farmyard coming to the city, there are plenty of ways that London is being re-wilded. Here’s where to go back to nature on your commute.

Tweet on the ledge

ZSL London Zoo’s latest project is an outdoor horticultural space for frogs on lily pads, a “hotel” for small beasts and a hedgehog hideaway. It’s all in aid of the Garden Wildlife Health project, to encourage zoo visitors to recreate these natural havens in their own gardens or even windowsills, where you can attract birds. Pop down, see the penguins, and learn how to start small.

A typical commute; Tom Davis, manager of Mudchute farm, with sheep in Green Park (Rex Features)
A typical commute; Tom Davis, manager of Mudchute farm, with sheep in Green Park (Rex Features)

Forage against the machine

Blackberry season is in full swing, which means you can pick some free fruit on the way to work. If you want to make it official, Mac & Wild has a Saturday foraging brunch. Expert forager James Grant takes guests on a trip around Finsbury Park to gather provisions and then it’s back to the Devonshire Square restaurant to transform them into a meal.

Hug a tree

With more than eight million trees, London classifies as a forest — that’s around one tree per person living here. We don’t just have quantity, this city has range — there are as many varieties of tree as there are people. Download the Woodland Trust’s tree identification app and go leaf-spotting as you walk to the Tube station or sit on the bus.

Kensington Gardens has three ancient trees, including a sweet chestnut with an impressive girth of 5.95m. There are North American bean trees dating from 1857 beneath Big Ben and Berkeley Square is home to Britain’s most expensive tree (well, what do you expect in Mayfair?). It’s a London plane worth £750,000, planted in 1789 by a resident.

Trees don’t just clean the air and provide habitats for animals, having them on your street can add £10,000 to the value of your house (money sometimes does grow on trees then).

The bird is the word

Starting work early means you have a better chance of spotting rare birds. London has more than 300 different species. Watch out though, parakeets have been landing on the heads of cyclists in Camden and Richmond.

Stretch yourself

Combine evening exercise with an outdoor fix at Woodberry Wetlands centre, where Thursday is yoga night. Try to spot a real-life crow or tree rather than just doing the poses of the same name.

Read all about it

Nature writer Robert Macfarlane has a new book out in October, which is an illustrated collection of poems to re-wild the English language. It’s aimed at children but very much suitable for grown-ups too. Until that’s out, read his Twitter feed, where he puts out a natural word of the day. There’s also The Nature Fix, by Florence Williams, investigating the restorative benefits of trees and creatures.