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The greening of the Games
Matthew Beard, Sports News Correspondent06.11.08
THESE images reveal how the Olympic Park will be transformed into a green haven for plants, wildlife and people.
Designs show how Games chiefs plan to set sports venues in Stratford and the Lower Lea Valley amid user-friendly open spaces.
They will ensure London's tradition of parks is a feature of the 2012 Games - in contrast to the Olympic Green in Beijing which was criticised for being inaccessible and lacking charm.
After the Games, the southern part of the park will retain the festival atmosphere, with riverside gardens, markets, events, cafés and bars.
The northern area will use the latest techniques to manage floodwater and rainwater, providing habitats for hundreds of species, some of them rare, from kingfishers to otters.
The green centrepiece of the park will be a half-mile-long botanical garden inspired by Britain's five centuries of collecting plants from around the world.
It will be located between the aquatics centre and Olympic stadium and divided into four zones, representing Europe, the Americas, Asia and the southern hemisphere. The project is by Sarah Price, 28, a rising star of the horticultural world based in Brixton.
The Olympic Delivery Authority said it chose Price because of her "painterly" approach, which uses her expertise in plants instead of relying on decking or water features.
There will also be flowering meadows, thousands of native trees, and several hills similar to Henman Hill at Wimbledon where spectators can watch events on giant screens.
A "smart park" will showcase environmental techniques, such as capturing rainwater through paving before cleaning it through a network of ditches, ponds, reedbeds and wet woodlands then releasing it into the river.
Plantings will be designed to create a "cool island" on hot days, and 2,000 large trees and other vegetation will protect visitors from strong sun and wind. There will also be community allotments.
Olympic Delivery Authority chief executive David Higgins said the park would be London's first for many years: "It will be a park for the 21st century, combining the best of British heritage with sustainable living.
"It will be a fantastic backdrop for the Games and the heart of the new community post-2012. It will also be designed to protect the area from floods."
Reader views (7)
W R Stevenson, London SE26 is I think correct that Hackney and Walthamstow Marshes have been developed appropriately by LVPRA. Local groups campaign to keep them so. Apart from the odd city farm its the nearest place Hackney people can see cattle and horses.
Folks round here have much less faith in the ODA based on what we've seen so far.
- Steve, Dalston, Hackney
East London has been there done that (next door) - and the new proposals will be a pleasant extention:-
"....This 28-acre reserve in the heart of east London, which opened last weekend, is based on disused water-filter beds. Now they provide a lifeline for some 900 species of animals and plants, at the heart of a new and improved visitor attraction in the Lee Valley Regional Park.
The only regional park in the country, Lee Valley has already established a horse-riding school and an ice rink on the north side of Lea Bridge Road. Now the Waterworks' futuristic new visitors' centre acts as a hub for the park's attractions on the road's south side, including the reserve, a pay-and-play golf course and driving range....."
- W R Stevenson, London SE26
No doubt this fantasy Garden of Eden will go through the same inevitable process of rationalisation as the rest of the 2012 Olympics.
Surely no-one believes in those computer-simulated images any more?
And it was already a unique habitat for hundreds of species, many of them rare, before they wiped out the existing fragile ecosystem.
- Charles, Hackney, UK
Decontaminating soil and wetlands and clearing water to create and sustain habitats for wild life is the opposite of destruction. It is preservation. And to be able to do so while simultaneously creating recreation area for the citizens of London is a spectacular achievement. Well done!
- Tim, Dayton, USA
Steve ... Ye of little faith 
muggers in the gladioli, i think not, cottagers in the gladioli more like
- David, London
Destruction of what, Steve? A dingy, derelict, crime-ridden wasteland. Good riddance.
- Simon, Stratford, London
Very nice,but think of all the destruction necessary before creating this little muggers oasis.
- Steve, London
