The nature collective was set up to encourage more people of colour to enjoy nature. Here, they take our writer on a spotting trip through the wildlands of north-east London
I have lived in cities all my life. My childhood did not involve any education in the outdoors. It would be fair to say my knowledge of birds doesn’t go much further than the varieties mentioned in Old Macdonald Had a Farm. So when I arrive at east London’s Walthamstow Wetlands on a cloudy November day to meet Ollie Olanipekun and Nadeem Perera for an afternoon of winter birdwatching, I am already apologetic for all that I do not know.
But it’s fine: Olanipekun and Perera are used to showing beginners around. In June 2020 they brought 15 people to this very same spot for the first outing of their collective, Flock Together, a birdwatching club that organises monthly walks for people of colour. Since then, they have regularly taken bigger groups of birdwatchers to woodlands across the south of England, from the Surrey Hills to the Essex marshes. They estimate that on each walk, 60% of the group are first-timers. I ask whether demand stays high in the winter. “We had 80 people turning out in the rain last December,” Olanipekun says with a grin. At this time of year, you might be able to see redwings and fieldfares arrive from colder parts of Europe for the winter. The wetlands is also home to one of the UK’s largest colonies of grey herons, and every evening a flock of parakeets make their way there to roost in the trees.
