In April 2016, a brand-new wetlands centre opened in Manor House, north London. The London Wildlife Trust’s (LWT) Woodberry Wetlands was created around the East Reservoir in Stoke Newington, built in 1833 but closed to the public ever since. This hidden enclave of wildlife, inaccessible for 180 years, is home to birds, bats, amphibians and many species of insect.
When Sir David Attenborough opened Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve, he said: ‘Contact with the natural world isn’t a luxury, it is actually a necessity for all of us. To see the seasons as they pass, not just asphalt and concrete and brick, but reeds and willows. To see birds coming up from Africa. To hear, above the hubbub of the traffic, birdsong.’
Now Londoners and visitors alike need only take the tube to see and hear such delights.
