The UK’s newest nature reserve was opened in east London over the weekend by David Attenborough.
Overshadowed by council tower blocks and swanky high rise developments, the 11 hectare (27 acres) site which includes a reservoir that supplies water to millions of Londoners, has become home to some of Britain’s more threatened birds including kingfishers, bitterns and Cetti warblers.
London Wildlife Trust has transformed the once barren wasteland into Woodberry Wetlands, with teams of dedicated volunteers planting dense reedbeds, hedgerows and wildflower meadows to attract birds, bees, butterflies and other insects.
Attenborough, who celebrates his 90th birthday later this week, officially opened the free-to-visit nature reserve, which has been closed to the public for 200 years. “Being in contact with the natural world is the most precious inheritance that human beings can have. If you lose that contact, you are losing your birth right.
The urban nature reserve also provides foraging and roosting for bats, and habitat for frogs, toads and newts and a wide range of insects including the rare red-eyed damselfly and moths. The reedbeds were created with channels of water to protect the birdlife from more unwelcome city visitors such as cats and foxes.
Alongside the conservation work, a Grade II-listed coal store has been resorted and turned into a visitor centre and café, and on the far side is a classroom and learning area with pond dipping and bee hives.
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