Woodberry Wetlands is a nature reserve and designated Site of Metropolitan Importance on the site of the East Reservoir in the

Manor House A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

area in the London Borough of Hackney. The site opened to the public for the first time in 200 years on 1 May 2016. Covering and situated close to the Lee Valley, Woodberry Wetlands was acquired as a nature reserve in 2014. The site is owned by

Thames Water Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is a large private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in most of Greater London, Luton, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, north Wiltsh ...

and run by

London Wildlife Trust London Wildlife Trust (LWT), founded in 1981, is a local nature conservation charity for Greater London. It is one of 46 members of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (known as The Wildlife Trusts), each of which is a local nature conservatio ...

. After a major redevelopment the East Reservoir now offers free public access. The reserve was developed by London Wildlife Trust in collaboration with Thames Water, Berkeley Homes and London Borough of Hackney, with funding from

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

. The site contains a boardwalk, a visitors' centre with café, toilet facilities and a classroom. The New River Path runs alongside the northern edge of the reservoir. This forms part of a cycle route connecting to Walthamstow Wetlands, badged as the ' Wetlands to Wetlands Greenway'.

History

The New River by the Woodberry Down Estate

Woodberry Wetlands entrance - Hackney, London, England

Before the 1600s London's water supply was mostly reliant on the River Thames, local streams, wells and springs.

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

authorised the construction of the New River in 1604 to bring clean water from springs in Hertfordshire and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

to London. Created in 1833, the reservoirs stored water from The New River. The banks of the reservoirs were lined at higher levels with stones taken from London Bridge, then in the course of demolition. Presently, water is temporarily held at the East Reservoir before processing at Walthamstow Reservoirs. The west reservoir has been converted into a water sports centre.

Ecology

Woodberry Wetlands is located close to the Lee Valley and is a resting place for migratory birds that move to and from the Lee Valley Special Protection Area, with

waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

such as pochard,

shoveler The shovelers or shovellers are four species of dabbling ducks with long, broad spatula-shaped beaks: * Red shoveler, ''Anas platalea'' * Cape shoveler, ''Anas smithii'' * Australasian shoveler, ''Anas rhynchotis'' * Northern shoveler, ''Anas c ...

and gadwall visiting the site.

Grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more norther ...

tufted duck The tufted duck or tufted pochard (''Aythya fuligula'') is a small diving duck with a population of close to one million birds, found in northern Eurasia. The scientific name is derived from Ancient Greek '' aithuia'', an unidentified seabird ment ...

reed bunting The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a ...

and other wetland birds are also present, along with

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

and other species such as damselflies,

dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...

, amphibians and

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

s. A significant expansion of the reed beds, organised by

, provides increased wildlife habitat with the aim of encouraging more reed bunting and

reed warbler The ''Acrocephalus'' warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Acrocephalus''. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler f ...

to breed at the site, as well as provide additional habitat for overwintering

bittern Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern ...

References

External links

*
The Systematic List of Birds of Stoke Newington Reservoirs & Woodberry Wetlands
{{DEFAULTSORT: London Wildlife Trust Nature reserves in the London Borough of Hackney Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Hackney Protected areas established in 2014 2014 establishments in England