Barely a couple of centuries ago, the land alongside the Thames downstream from London Bridge was wild open marshland where cows grazed and wildlife flourished. Almost all of it has since been lost: drained, built on, and changed beyond recognition.
 

Rainham Open Day

But one huge area, inside the M25 between Rainham and Purfleet, remained as marshland. Much of the reason for its preservation was that it was out of bounds, used by the Ministry of Defence for military training. This allowed much of the marshland wildlife to survive, wildlife that is nationally important and is exceptional in London terms.

When the military no longer needed the site, developers queued up to build here, but a successful campaign by local people and conservationists led to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds acquiring the site, the Rainham, Wennington and Aveley Marshes, in July 2000. Their mission? To create a haven for both wildlife and people forever - a wild space for a world city.
 

Since 2000, much of the early work done by the RSPB has centred around clearing the site of unwanted rubbish and getting the nature reserve into the very best shape for large numbers of birds and other wildlife. Now the focus can shift to public access, and with good reason: 11 million people are estimated to live within 90-minutes travel of here! There has been no unaccompanied access onto the marshes for a century, but now, by building high quality facilities and an infrastructure network accessible for all, the RSPB hopes to change that as soon as possible.
 

Children pond dipping

On Saturday 18th September, the RSPB held its third annual Open Day on the nature reserve. This year represents a milestone in the development of the nature reserve since it will coincide with the opening of the first section of nature trail. This will lead from a newly completed car park through scrub and grassland to an area of shallow flooding which in the winter plays host to several thousand birds. In time, it will form part of a large network of trails that will wind its way around the marsh through a variety of habitats and will allow people to experience nature close up. You will be amazed at what you may find!

Until an Environment & Education Centre is built, planned for Spring 2006, facilities will be limited but access onto the reserve will improve as more work is completed. In the meantime, there will be an expanded programme of events running throughout the autumn and winter, including a number of Open Weekends and a series of guided walks linked to a new BBC Natural History programme.