Creekside Education Trust (CET) is a vibrant local charity working to connect people and wildlife and we recognise and value our place in a wider community seeking to combat global environmental threats.
We are based on a small site on the banks of Deptford Creek in South East London and offer a unique opportunity to safely access and explore the river bed at low tide. The site is managed for wildlife and over 300 species of wildflowers have been recorded. The purpose built Creekside Discovery Centre opened in 2002 and is equipped with offices, a classroom and full facilities.
CET was set up in 1999 in response to a wave of development that was sweeping the area and our charitable purpose is ‘to promote the conservation and protection of the physical and natural environment in the Deptford Creek and river Thames area’ and ‘to advance public education in environmental matters’.
We have a fantastic team of passionate, knowledgeable staff and volunteers who manage a full programme of conservation and education work and run exciting and varied activities and events throughout the year.
We have an enormously popular schools programme for all Key Stages in term time as well as sessions and events that are suitable for home schoolers and we run family activities in the holidays.
Our wider education programme is open to all ages and includes regular Low Tide Walks, wildlife walks and talks and surveys and a varied series of workshops and events linking to the local environment in often surprising and creative ways, from mud art to creative writing and dance.
As well as managing the CET site, our experienced conservation team manages a number of other sites along the creek for the local authority, developers and housing companies. They also offer ecology consultancy services including advice and survey work.
Over 50,000 people have accessed Deptford Creek and learned more about the local environment through our work to date and we have engaged with a huge range of organisations and individuals including government agencies, developers, local authorities, businesses, charities, archaeologists, scientists, artists, thespians, dancers and anyone else who has shown an interest and even some people who didn’t to begin with. We hope to extend this list further and in particular to ensure that our local community is welcomed and fully represented throughout our work.
