London Wildlife Trust (LWT) is an English wildlife charity based in London.[1]

London Wildlife Trust
Formation1981
TypeCharitable organization
FocusNature recovery
HeadquartersFivefields, 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens, Victoria, London, SW1W 0DH
CEO
David Mooney
Chair
Rufus Radcliffe
Key people
Mathew Frith (Director of Conservation), Leah McNally (Director of Projects & Visitor Engagement), Charlie Sims (Director of Visitor Experience)
Staff50+
Volunteers
700+
Websitehttps://www.wildlondon.org.uk

Founded in 1981, London Wildlife Trust is one of 46 members of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts (known as The Wildlife Trusts), each of which is a local nature charity for its area.[2][3] The Trust manages 36 nature reserves in Greater London[4] and provides education services for schools, events for nature enthusiasts, and information on how to help London's wildlife.

The Trust pioneered the systematic recording of data on wildlife and the environment in the capital. Its "Biological Recording Project" became the semi-independent "Greenspace Information for Greater London", known as GIGL.[5]

The Trust has more than 50 members of staff[6] and 700 volunteers, and is supported by over 12,000 members.[7] It's reserves receive over 1 million visits per year.[8][9]

In its 2024 strategy document the Trust sets out its vision and mission, as well as plans for a five-year period. The trust states its vision as "A London alive with wildlife, nature in everyone's neighbourhood."[10][8]

Nature reserves

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Sites

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Site Location[a] Public access[a] Description
Birdbrook Road Nature Reserve[11] Kidbrooke No A reserve in Kidbrooke and one of London’s most important strongholds for newts.
Braeburn Park[12] Crayford Yes A former orchard, quarry and landfill site reclaimed by nature and now managed in partnership with the Land Trust.
Bramley Bank[13] Croydon Yes Restored woodland and heathland in Croydon which typifies London’s semi-natural habitats, providing a home for stag beetles and woodpeckers.
Camley Street Natural Park[14] King's Cross Yes Camley Street Natural Park is in central London - between King's Cross and St Pancras.
Centre for Wildlife Gardening[15] East Dulwich Yes Wildlife garden and visitor centre in a residential street in East Dulwich.
Chapel Bank Croydon Yes A chalk grassland reserve with butterflies.
Crane Park Island[16] Whitton Yes A variety of habitats including woodland, reedbed, ditches, ponds and river. On a site formerly used for gunpowder production in Whitton.
Denham Lock Wood[17] Hillingdon Yes An example of wet woodland in London, designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in the Colne Valley.
Dews Farm Sand Pits[18] Hillingdon Yes A combination of acid grassland and young woodland habitats in Harefield, Hillingdon.
Farm Bog[19] Wimbledon Yes One of the largest of London’s six remaining lowland bogs on Wimbledon Common.
Frays Farm Meadows[20] Uxbridge Yes One of the rare wet grazing meadows in London and part-designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), near Uxbridge, Hillingdon.
Frays Island and Mabey's Meadow West Drayton Yes Alder and willow woodland set between the Rivers Colne and Frays in West Drayton.
Gunnersbury Triangle[21] Chiswick Yes A reserve framed by intersecting railway lines, close to Chiswick Park Station.
Gutteridge Wood and Meadows[22] Hillingdon Yes An ancient oak and hazel coppice woodland and adjacent associated meadows in North Hillingdon. The woodland has bluebells in spring and a year-long haven for birds and wildflowers.
Huckerby's Meadows[23][b] Hillingdon Yes Wildlife reserve beneath the flight approach to Heathrow Airport.
Hutchinson's Bank[25] Croydon Yes An area of chalk grassland and woodland, supporting rare plants and insects.
Ickenham Marsh[26] Ickenham Yes An array of wetland plants dominate this riverside site.
Isleworth Ait[27] Isleworth No An sanctuary for birds, beetles and rare molluscs on an island in the middle of the River Thames.
New Cross Gate Cutting[28] Brockley No An area of woodland in South London set on the slopes of a deep railway cutting, which supports 170 species of flowering plants
Oak Hill Wood[29] Barnet Yes This steeply-sloping medieval woodland in East Barnet is home to bats, rare trees and flowers.
Park Road Pond[30] Hillingdon Yes A site with amphibians in Uxbridge.
Riddlesdown[31] Croydon Yes A chalk grassland and yew woodland in North Downs.
Saltbox Hill[32] Greater London Yes This rare fragment of surviving downland in Biggin Hill is said to have inspired a local man called Charles Darwin.
Spencer Road Wetlands[33] Beddington Corner No An area of wet willow woodland and reed swamp next to south London’s River Wandle.
Sydenham Hill Wood and Cox's Walk[34] Sydenham Hill Yes A mix of new and ancient woodland in Dulwich, with remnants of Victorian gardens. The Trust’s oldest nature reserve.
Ten Acre Wood and Meadows[35] Hillingdon Yes A century-old oak plantation over hazel coppice in Hillingdon.
The Grove Hillingdon Yes A remnant of an old Victorian garden in Hillingdon, the site is aided by the presence of wetland areas.
The Warren[36] Kevington Yes This mixed woodland reserve close to the Cray Valley on London’s Kent border was formerly part of the estate of a Georgian manor house.
Threecorner Grove Croydon Yes A chalk woodland on London’s southern extremity.
Totteridge Fields[37] Barnet Yes Traditional English countryside within London’s northern fringe in Barnet.
Walthamstow Wetlands Walthamstow Yes 15 minutes from central London.
West Kent Golf Course[38] Downe Yes In the rough grass, a natural habitat with butterflies and orchids.
Wilderness Island[39] Carshalton Yes Where two arms of the River Wandle meet in South London.
Woodberry Wetlands[40] Hackney Yes Woodberry Wetlands is in Hackney: 11 hectares of reed-fringed ponds and dykes.
Yeading Brook Meadows[41] Hillingdon Yes Wild flowers and grasses dominate this meadow in West London’s Yeading Valley, hosting insect life.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b The location and public access are taken from the London Wildlife Trust page for each site.
  2. ^ This site is indexed by the London Wildlife Trust as Huckerby's Meadows,[24] but the information page is headed Crane Meadows.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "About us | London Wildlife Trust". www.wildlondon.org.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  2. ^ "About London Wildlife Trust". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
  3. ^ "Map of Wildlife Trusts". The Wildlife Trusts. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2016. Each of the 47 Wildlife Trusts is an independent, autonomous charity with its own trustees, whose primary concern is the conservation of nature within its own geographical area.
  4. ^ "Find a nature reserve". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014.
  5. ^ Frith, 2012
  6. ^ "Meet the team | London Wildlife Trust". www.wildlondon.org.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  7. ^ "About us | London Wildlife Trust". www.wildlondon.org.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  8. ^ a b For a Wilder City, p. 5
  9. ^ London Wildlife Trust, Annual Review, 2008–2009 Archived 7 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ https://www.wildlondon.org.uk/sites/default/files/2024-09/LWT%20Strategy%202030.pdf Strategy 2030
  11. ^ "Birdbrook Road Nature Reserve". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Braeburn Park". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Bramley Bank". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  14. ^ "Camley Street Natural Park". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 9 June 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Centre for Wildlife Gardening". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 29 August 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  16. ^ "Crane Park Island". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Denham Lock Wood". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  18. ^ "Dews Farm Sand Pits". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  19. ^ "Farm Bog". London Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  20. ^ "Frays Farm Meadows". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  21. ^ "Gunnersbury Triangle". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  22. ^ "Gutteridge Wood". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  23. ^ a b "Crane Meadows". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  24. ^ "Find a nature reserve". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 23 July 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  25. ^ "Hutchinson's Bank, Chapel Bank & Threecorner Grove". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  26. ^ "Ickenham Marsh". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  27. ^ "Isleworth Ait". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 4 October 2016. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  28. ^ "New Cross Gate Cutting". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 9 July 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  29. ^ "Oak Hill Wood". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  30. ^ "Park Road Ponds". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  31. ^ "Riddlesdown SSSI". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  32. ^ "Saltbox Hill SSSI". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  33. ^ "Spencer Road Wetlands". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  34. ^ "Sydenham Hill Wood and Cox's Walk". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  35. ^ "Ten Acre Wood". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  36. ^ "The Warren". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  37. ^ "Totteridge Fields". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  38. ^ "West Kent Golf Course". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  39. ^ "Wilderness Island". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
  40. ^ "Woodberry Wetlands". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  41. ^ "Yeading Brook Meadows". London Wildlife Trust. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2015.

Sources

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