Walthamstow Wetlands gets playful bird signs

By Munisha editorial team

New signs have appeared around Walthamstow Wetlands and Coppermill Lane, but they are not the usual wayfinding boards telling walkers where to turn next. Some are imagined as if birds could read them. Others borrow from the way birds perceive colour, or treat the wetlands like a stop on a much longer international journey.

The public art project was developed by Europa and what if: projects, with support from Waltham Forest Council and St James Big Local. The signs were installed in spring 2026 and formally launched on Wednesday 13 May with people involved in the work.

For residents and visitors, the change adds a small element of surprise to a familiar local walk. For the project team, the signs are also a way to draw attention to the migratory birds that connect Walthamstow Wetlands with other landscapes across Europe and Africa.

New signs on the approach to Walthamstow Wetlands

The signs can be found on the approach to Walthamstow Wetlands, including around Coppermill Lane. The source material says their locations are shown on the Wetlands map site, giving walkers a practical route into the project rather than placing the work behind a gallery door.

Their tone is deliberately playful. The ideas include “signs for birds to read”, bird-oriented messages, humorous menus and visual cues inspired by birds’ enhanced colour perception. That makes the work part public art, part local nature prompt: something people can notice while heading into one of London’s most distinctive wetland spaces.

The choice of birds as the subject is rooted in the place. Walthamstow Wetlands sits within the Lee Valley, a landscape used by birds that travel long distances across seasons. The project names species including the Common Ringed Plover, Osprey, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Tern and Red Knot as natural ambassadors between countries.

A local walk linked to the East Atlantic Flyway

The project connects Walthamstow Wetlands and Coppermill Lane to the East Atlantic Flyway, one of the major migratory routes used by birds moving between breeding and wintering grounds. In this setting, a sign is not just an object on a post; it becomes a way to point from a London borough towards a wider ecological network.

Some design references look south, reflecting the direction of many migratory journeys. Others draw attention to Ramsar-recognised wetlands, a designation used for wetlands of international significance. The result is a local public artwork that keeps its feet on Coppermill Lane while looking towards wetlands across Europe and Africa.

That global thread gives the signs their strongest hook. A resident out for a short walk may be passing through the same landscape used by birds whose journeys cross borders, seas and continents. The artwork uses humour and colour to make that idea easier to meet in everyday public space.

Residents, pupils and community groups shaped the work

The signs were co-created over two years through workshops, meetings and collaborative design activity. Participants included local residents, young people, Coppermill Primary School, Coppermill Lane Residents Group, the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and community members taking part in workshops at The Mill.

The project also included guest contributor Chukwuike Ebuzome from Finima Nature Park in Nigeria, extending the conversation beyond the immediate neighbourhood. That contribution fits the project’s wider focus on migration, shared habitats and the connections between wetland places.

Gareth Morris, Director of what if: projects, said the work was inspired by the landscapes near Coppermill Lane and by collaboration with local people of different backgrounds and ages. He also linked it to Flowers for Sutherland Road, another Europa and what if: projects scheme completed in 2024 on shutters along the street.

Robert Sollis, Co-founder of Europa, framed the project through migration itself. “Just as migratory birds enrich the Lee Valley by travelling vast distances to make it their home, this project reminds us that migration – whether of birds or people – brings life, connection, and wonder to the places it touches.”

Why the signs stand out from standard park notices

Most public signs in parks and nature reserves are designed to be read quickly by people: maps, warnings, rules and directions. This project starts with a stranger question, asking how signage might work across species, landscapes and forms of perception.

Birds do not read human signs, but the joke carries a more serious design idea. By imagining messages aimed at birds, the project encourages walkers to think about the wetlands from another point of view. Colour, symbols and orientation become part of the story, rather than decorative afterthoughts.

For Walthamstow, that gives the wetlands a fresh layer of local identity without changing the basic experience of visiting. The signs sit in public space, shaped by local voices, and point towards the birds whose routes make the area part of a much larger natural system.

Source: Waltham Forest Council

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Source check Source trail

This article is based on Waltham Forest Council’s published account of the Walthamstow Wetlands signage project.

Checks

• Checked the named project partners: Europa, what if: projects, Waltham Forest Council and...
• Matched the stated locations to Walthamstow Wetlands and Coppermill Lane.
• Preserved the launch date given in the source: Wednesday 13 May.
• Kept the named bird species and East Atlantic Flyway context to the source wording.

Waltham Forest Council Check wider context

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Waltham Forest Council

Scope

Walthamstow

Updated

2026-05-28 19:05

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Article contextPeople & topics3#7

Gareth MorrisChukwuike EbuzomeRobert Sollis

#Coppermill Lane#East Atlantic Flyway#Lee Valley#migratory birds#Public Art#Waltham Forest Council#Walthamstow Wetlands

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