Project Profiles - England

A Vision Made Manifest
Article and Photos by Martin Senior, The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

In the tradition of his father, Antarctic explorer Sir Robert Scott, Peter Scott felt compelled to do what escaped the imagination of others. In 1946, he founded The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (Trust) on the banks of the River Severn in Gloucestershire, England. In following years, he established seven more centres, conserving about 2,000 hectares of wetlands in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England. He also cofounded the World Wide Fund for Nature. In 1976, in recognition of his body of work, he was the first to be knighted for services to conservation, and was proclaimed the United Kingdom’s “father of conservation.”

Never satisfied with the status quo, Peter decided to take wildfowl and wetlands conservation to the masses, and this decision took him to the heart of London. Here, he thought, was a place where the populace could learn firsthand the importance of conservation. His vision is now manifest at the London Wetland Centre.
While the centre originated in Peter’s imagination, it was a partnership among the Trust, Thames Water, and Berkeley Homes that transformed mind into matter. Thames Water owns the reservoir site on which the centre is now located. Following the completion of the Thames Water Ring Main, a 50-mile water tunnel under London, the reservoir was no longer needed, but because it had been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest by English Nature, the company wished to find a sympathetic use for the land.

At the same time, Peter was looking for a site in London on which to build the centre—the Thames Water property filled the bill. Berkeley Homes, which had developed approximately 25 acres of the site into a prestigious housing development, was together with Thames Water willing to contribute a percentage of its profits from home sales—£11million—to help develop the centre. Through fundraising, the Trust brought in another £5 million, and a £676,500 Heritage Lottery Fund grant helped with the project’s completion.

Now, as Peter had envisioned it, people have a space especially created for them to get close to, enjoy, and learn about wildlife and their wetlands habitats. Visitors have a mosaic of lagoons, lakes, ponds, and pools that span 42 hectares in which to experience 14 wetlands habitats from around the world, from an Australian billabong to Siberian tundra. Representative wildfowl inhabit each wetland type. A three-story tower and six hides, or blinds, offer visitors new perspectives of nature. An extensive family events programme, aimed at developing interest in wildlife and habitat conservation, runs throughout the year.

Though located in a metropolitan area, the centre attracts more than 170 bird species annually, some of whichare present in nationally important numbers, such as gadwall and northern shoveler,. An increasing variety of birds also breed at the centre, including Eurasian reed-warbler, little ringed plover, common pochard, and northern lapwing—a bird that has seen a 50 percent decline in numbers over the past decade.

Peter’s vision is realized daily: the centre plays a vital role in promoting to the widest audience possible the importance of conserving the world’s wetlands and the wildlife dependent upon them.

For more information, contact Stephanie Fudge, Centre Manager, London Wetland Centre, Queen Elizabeth Walk, London, England SW13 9WT, 020 8409 4400, stephanie.fudge@wwt.org.uk, www.wwt.org.uk.