Wild London
Creating wilder spaces, more natural places and better management of them
There are four core strands to our work:
London is a remarkably green city. Two-thirds of London’s land area is occupied by green spaces and water. Of this, about a third is private gardens, a third parks or in sports use and a further third is other wildlife habitats, such as grasslands, woodlands and rivers; albeit much of this is embedded within an urban fabric. London’s biodiversity reflects this mosaic. Large areas of semi-natural habitat such as grazing marsh and chalk downland supporting species such as water voles and orchids are confined to the urban fringe, whereas areas of ancient woodland, mature parkland and reservoirs (which support considerable numbers of wintering wildfowl) can be found throughout the capital. London’s parks and gardens and even the built environment can support rare and unusual species such as stag beetles and peregrine falcons as well as a wealth of common species which, importantly, provide people with everyday contact with nature.
Most of London’s most important habitats and species are found within London’s statutory sites (Sites of Special Scientific Interest – SSSI) and non-statutory sites (Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation - SINC). The London Biodiversity Action Plan (and complementary Borough Biodiversity Action Plans) detail priority habitats and species and the actions required to protect them.
In London there are 36 SSSIs (including 2 Special Protection Areas, 2 Special Areas of Conservation and 2 National Nature Reserves). Protected species (including species such as great crested newt, all bats, and breeding birds such as peregrine falcon and black redstart) are relatively widely scattered and there are reasonably good records of their occurrence and distribution. There are no protected landscapes (i.e. National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty - AONB) apart from a very small part of the North Downs AONB in Bromley.
The primary role of Wild London is:
to secure co-ordinated action and targeting of initiatives to achieve the greatest results for the natural environment. It seeks to ensure that biodiversity targets are met or exceeded; that London’s SSSI’s are in favourable condition and connected to the wider landscape for wildlife and people; and to maximise the use of Environmental Stewardship to achieve positive land management in the city.
To contact the Wild London team, email wildlondon@naturalengland.org.uk
