Thurrock Thameside Nature Park is an

Essex Wildlife Trust The Essex Wildlife Trust (EWT) is one of 46 wildlife trusts which cover the United Kingdom. The EWT was founded in 1959, and it describes itself as Essex's leading conservation charity, which aims to protect wildlife for the future and the people ...

nature reserve located on top of the former Mucking Marshes Landfill in

Thurrock Thurrock () is a unitary authority area with borough status and unparished area in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. It is part of the London commuter belt and an area of regeneration within the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone. The l ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

which will eventually cover . It is next to the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

and provides good bird and ship watching. The

Cory Environmental Cory is a recycling and waste management company based in London. Originally founded as William Cory & Son in 1896, the company has operated vessels on the River Thames for more than 125 years, transporting a range of commodities and materials in ...

Trust Visitor Centre is located at the preserve and provides a roof top viewing platform.

The Nature Park

The Thurrock Thameside Nature Park currently covers , but will grow to . It is by the side of Mucking Creek, overlooking the Thames and directly overlooks Mucking Flats and Marshes - coastal marshes and saltmarsh designated a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

(SSSI) and

Special Protection Area A Special Protection Area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cert ...

(SPA). These mudflats form the largest intertidal feeding area for wintering wildfowl and waders west of Canvey Island on the north bank of the Thames. At the east end of the nature park, the sea wall has been breached to provide tidal mud flats. The site has been landscaped to include grasslands, woodland, ponds and reedbeds. It is already home to mice, voles, shrews and hares as well as the rare shrill carder-bee. The opening ceremony on 11 May 2013 was performed by

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

. In his opening speech, he said, "What you have done here...is a monument to what can be done to restore nature". The visitors centre is built on hydraulic jacks to cope with settlement of the underlying rubbish. There is a network of footpaths, bridleways and cycle routes across the site. The park won the conservation category in the Observer Ethical Awards 2011. Cory Environmental Centre

The park was established in partnership with the owners of Mucking Landfill, Cory Environmental Ltd, Cory Environmental Trust in Thurrock, who provided the funding for the visitor centre, and Essex County Council's Parkland project, which also provided vital funds.

History

The site was once a gravel pit. Once the gravel was all extracted, it was used as a landfill for 50 years by

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. The waste is stacked high. A thick clay cap was placed on top followed by soil and plants. Methane from the rotting waste is being captured and burned to produce electricity.

References

External links

Official website
{{Essex Wildlife Trust Thurrock Essex Wildlife Trust