Wallasea Wetlands facts for kids
Wallasea Wetlands is a special area in Essex, England. It's a huge wetland that was created by people to help nature. This project helps protect wild birds that were losing their homes. It is the biggest man-made wetland by the sea in the United Kingdom.
This wetland covers 115 hectares, which is about 284 football fields! It's located on Wallasea Island, between two rivers: the River Crouch and the River Roach. Wallasea Wetlands is a safe place for many animals. Birds come here in winter, and fish like bass, mullet, flatfish, and herring use it as a nursery. Even some dolphins have been seen here! The area also helps stop floods near the River Crouch by giving floodwaters a place to go.
To create this wetland, a sea wall was moved further inland. This new wall protects farms and homes. The land in front of the new wall became the wetland. It's a perfect home for birds like oystercatchers, avocets, and little terns.
You can visit Wallasea Wetlands and enjoy the views. A new path was built on top of the relocated sea wall for walkers and birdwatchers. The main building work finished in 2006. By 2011, the land had changed into wetlands, mudflats, salty lagoons, and seven small islands. This allowed wildlife to move in and thrive.
The project got even bigger in 2015. Workers used 2,400 boatloads of soil dug from London's Crossrail tunnels. This soil helped create more wetland areas. The entire Wallasea Wetlands project is expected to be fully finished by 2025.
The History of Wallasea Wetlands
Wetlands have been on Wallasea Island for a very long time. In the 1400s, Dutch settlers drained these lands to create farms. Over many years, more wetlands were drained for building. This caused many wild animals, especially birds, to lose their homes and become endangered.
Why Was Wallasea Wetlands Created?
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, two important wetland areas were drained. These were Lappel Bank in the Medway Estuary and Fagbury Flats in the Orwell Estuary. New ports were built in their place. A court in Europe decided that these lost wetlands had to be replaced. So, the idea for new wetlands like Wallasea was born.
The Wallasea Wetlands project had to meet certain goals:
- It needed to fit with existing plans for the coast.
- It had to create a good home for birds that had lost their habitats over many years.
- It needed to help protect the area from floods and storms.
- It had to be a nice place for local people to visit without harming businesses.
How Wallasea Wetlands Was Built
Work on the £7.5 million project began in 2005. First, a new sea defence wall was built. This wall marked the area where the sea would be allowed to flood. On July 4, 2006, part of the old sea wall was removed. This allowed the sea tides to flow into the area at high tide, creating the new wetlands.
