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    Common carder bumblebee - Wildnet / Nick Upton

    Common carder bumblebee - Wildnet / Nick Upton

    We are the county’s leading conservation charity, committed  to protecting wildlife and inspiring a lifelong love of nature. We manage nature reserves and discovery parks across the county,  providing outstanding outdoor education and preserving places of wonder.

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    Bluebells

    Essex Wildlife Trust manages and protects over 8,400 acres of land on 87 nature reserves and run 11 Nature Discovery Centres. 

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    Harvest Mouse

    Photo: Vaughn Matthews

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    Common blue damselfly - Les Binns / Wildnet

    Common blue damselfly - Les Binns / Wildnet

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  2. Nature Reserves

Nature Discovery Centres and Nature Reserves

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Abberton Reservoir Visitor Centre

Abberton Reservoir Nature Discovery Park

A wetland site of international importance for wildfowl. Up to 40,000 ducks, swans and geese visit each year. Excellent bird watching opportunities and fabulous views over the reservoir.

  • A family day out
  • Birdwatching
  • Butterflies
  • Getting away from it all
  • Overwintering birds
Abbotts Hall Farm

Abbotts Hall Farm

A 700 acre coastal farm and the head office of Essex Wildlife Trust situated on the Blackwater Estuary. Visitors can see the success of the coastal realignment project and enjoy a fantastic,…

  • Birdwatching
  • Getting away from it all
  • Historical interest
  • Overwintering birds
  • Stunning views
Blue House Farm sunset Peter Hewitt

Blue House Farm Nature Reserve

Immerse yourself in the best wilderness Essex can offer and witness the true wonder of migration at Blue House Farm

  • A sense of the wild
  • Big skies
  • Birdwatching
  • Getting away from it all
Chigborough Lakes Autumn

Chigborough Lakes Nature Reserve

Once gravel pits, this land was flooded and transformed into a wildlife haven where you can discover new wildlife round every bend or sit back on one of the benches and take it all in

  • Birdwatching
  • Getting away from it all
  • Spring flowers
  • Spring migrant birds
  • Wildflowers
Wall Brown - Amy Lewis

Cranham Marsh Nature Reserve

A woodland oasis located inside the M25, this relic marshland is a prime example of what the countryside would have looked like

  • Birdwatching
  • Butterflies
  • Getting away from it all
  • Spring flowers
Bluebells and Wood Anenomes at Backwarden

Danbury Ridge Nature Reserves

Danbury Ridge Nature Reserves are a wonderful mosaic of woodland, common, heathland, streams and bogs

  • Ancient trees
  • Birdwatching
  • Getting away from it all
  • Spring flowers
Fingringhoe Wick visitor centre

Fingringhoe Wick Nature Discovery Park

Fingringhoe Wick was Essex Wildlife Trust's first nature reserve (1961), some years later it was where the Trust opened their first visitor centre. Sixty years on visitors are still coming…

  • A family day out
  • Birdwatching
  • Getting away from it all
  • Spring migrant birds
  • Stunning views
Hanningfield Bluebells

Hanningfield Reservoir Nature Discovery Park

Providing panoramic views over the 870 acre reservoir. The Nature Discovery Centre is set in mature woodland and has proved a popular bat roost, with a beautiful carpet of Bluebells in the spring…

  • A family day out
  • Birdwatching
  • Fungi
  • Getting away from it all
  • Overwintering birds
Howlands Marsh from the air

Howlands Marsh Nature Reserve

Take a walk around one of the best coastal grazing marshes in Essex, with its amazing display of wintering wildfowl and rare saltmarsh plants

  • A sense of the wild
  • Big skies
  • Birdwatching
  • Getting away from it all
Ingrebourne visitor centre

Ingrebourne Nature Discovery Centre

Essex Wildlife Trust's Ingrebourne Valley Nature Discovery Centre is a partnership project between Essex Wildlife Trust and Havering Council. Built in Hornchurch Country Park, the centre…

  • A family day out
  • Dog walking
  • Drinks and food
  • Getting away from it all
  • Historical interest
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Love Essex - Love Wildlife

Essex Wildlife Trust Headquarters, Abbotts Hall Farm, Maldon Road, Great Wigborough, Colchester, CO5 7RZ
Registered Charity Number 210065    VAT Registered 945 7459 77    Company Number 00638666