Watercress Wildlife Site

Last updated
The River Ver in the Watercress Wildlife Site River Ver in Watercress Wildlife Site.JPG
The River Ver in the Watercress Wildlife Site

Watercress Wildlife Site is a 1.2-hectare (3.0-acre) Local Nature Reserve in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. It is owned by St Albans City Council [1] [2] and managed by the Watercress Wildlife Association, a registered charity. The boundaries of the site are the Alban Way, the River Ver and the houses of Riverside Road. [3]

Contents

Until 1972 the site was one of the many commercial watercress beds in the area. It was then used partly as allotments, with fly tipping in some areas. In 1991 the council leased the site to the Watercress Wildlife Association, which cleared the site to become a nature reserve and gradually took over the allotments. [4]

The site has a wide variety of wildlife, including water rails, kingfishers, little grebes and muntjac deer. [1]

Facilities

There is access from the junction of Riverside Road and Cornwall Road. Facilities include a hide, seating area and information board.

See also

The Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust has a reserve at Lemsford Springs, Lemsford, which is also a former watercress bed.

Related Research Articles

Ashford Green Corridor is a green space that runs through the town of Ashford in Kent, England. The Green Corridor is made up of parks, recreation grounds and other green spaces alongside the rivers that flow through Ashford. It is a Local Nature Reserve.

Totternhoe Knolls

Totternhoe Knolls is a 13.1 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Totternhoe in Bedfordshire. It is also a local nature reserve, and part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site is owned by Central Bedfordshire Council and leased to the National Trust. Most of the site is maintained jointly by the National Trust and the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire (WTBCN), and is part of the WTBCN Totternhoe nature reserve, which also includes Totternhoe Chalk Quarry and Totternhoe Stone Pit. The SSSI also includes Totternhoe Castle, the earthworks of a Norman motte-and-bailey castle which is a Scheduled monument.

Ravensbury Park

Ravensbury Park is a public park in Mitcham in the London Borough of Merton. An area of 7 hectares is designated a Local Nature Reserve. The River Wandle runs along the southern boundary of the park, which is also part of the Upper Wandle River Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation.

Spencer Road Wetlands

Spencer Road Wetlands is a one hectare Local Nature Reserve in Mitcham in the London Borough of Sutton. It is owned by Sutton Council and managed by the London Wildlife Trust.

Bacombe and Coombe Hills

Bacombe and Coombe Hills is a 76.4 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Upper Bacombe in Buckinghamshire. Bacombe Hill was formerly owned by Buckinghamshire County Council, which transferred it to Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust in 2014. Coombe Hill is owned by the National Trust.

Batford Springs

Batford Springs is a 3.5 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Harpenden in Hertfordshire. It is owned and managed by Harpenden Town Council, and most work on the site is undertaken by the Batford Springs Volunteers. The declaring authority is St Albans City Council.

Fishers Field

Fisher's Field is a 1.8 hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in Bushey in Hertfordshire. It is owned and managed by Hertsmere Borough Council.

The Withey Beds

The Withey Beds is a 7.5 hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in Rickmansworth in Hertfordshire. It was declared an LNR in 2004 by Three Rivers District Council, and the council owns and manages the site.

Wheathampstead Local Nature Reserve

Wheathampstead Local Nature Reserve is a 5.9 hectare Local Nature Reserve (LNR) in Wheathampstead in Hertfordshire. It was declared an LNR by St Albans City Council in 2002, and is leased by Wheathampstead Parish Council from Hertfordshire County Council.

Lemsford Springs

Lemsford Springs is a 4 hectare nature reserve in Lemsford, Hertfordshire, England. It is managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, which purchased the site in 1970. Notable for its lagoons, the site is in the Lea valley and its other habitats are meadow, hedgerows, marsh and willow woodland.

Chelmer Valley Riverside

Chelmer Valley Riverside is a 17.6 hectare Local Nature Reserve along the banks of the River Chelmer in Chelmsford in Essex. It is owned and managed by Chelmsford City Council.

Centenary Fields

Centenary Fields is a 4.2-hectare (10-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Lingfield in Surrey. It is owned by Lingfield Parish Council and managed by Lingfield Wildlife Area Committee.

Riverside Walk, Virginia Water

Riverside Walk is a 21.2-hectare (52-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Virginia Water in Surrey. It is owned by Runnymede Borough Council and managed by The Cabrera Trust Committee.

Ewelme Watercress Beds

Ewelme Watercress Beds is a 2.6-hectare (6.4-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Ewelme in Oxfordshire. It is owned and managed by the Chiltern Society.

Anton Lakes British natural area

Anton Lakes is a 33.1-hectare (82-acre) Local Nature Reserve in Andover in Hampshire. It is owned by Test Valley Borough Council and managed by the council together with The Anton River Conservation Association.

References

  1. 1 2 "Watercress Wildlife Site". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. 16 March 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  2. "Map of Watercress Wildlife Site". Local Nature Reserves. Natural England. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  3. "About the WWA". Watercress Wildlife Association. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  4. "History". Watercress Wildlife Association. Retrieved 28 June 2015.

Coordinates: 51°44′37″N0°19′58″W / 51.7436°N 0.3328°W / 51.7436; -0.3328