Greater Thames

Commercial shipping, intensive farming, six million people, heavy industry and power generation are not characteristics typically associated with ancient habitats, rare species and wildlife spectacles.

Yet on the doorstep of one of the world’s most well-known waterways, the Greater Thames Futurescape covers over 1,000km squared of marshland and mudflats.

Hundreds of thousands of wildfowl and wading birds depend on the area to survive each winter. In the summer, the marshlands are one of the last remaining strongholds in southern England’s for breeding redshanks and lapwings. There are rare insects like the scarce emerald dragonfly and it’s one of the best places in the country to come face-to-face with a water vole.

Find out what’s going on near this Futurescape, including places to visit, news and local events, plus how you can work or volunteer for us. 

• Essex
• Greater London
• Kent

Reserves and other protected areas are a key part of Futurescapes. They provide core areas for nature to thrive and eventually repopulate the surrounding landscapes. The key RSPB reserves within this Futurescape are:

• Cliffe Pools
• Northward Hill
• Old Hall Marshes
• Rainham Marshes
• South Essex Marshes
• Vange Marsh
• Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project
• West Canvey Marsh

We're working to safeguard and improve special places for nature. Each Futurescape contains a range of initiatives in addition to our reserves. The combination of these creates better conditions for wildlife across the countryside.

Thames Estuary

Plans for an airport in the Thames Estuary are unsustainable and would threaten a world-class coastal wetland.

Wallasea Island Wild Coast Project

Four hundred years ago, the Essex coast was a wild and beautiful place, a haven for wildlife and a source of livelihood for local communities. Today however, less than a tenth of this wild coast remains.

Futurescapes is all about collaboration. There are many organisations and people involved in managing land in the Greater Thames. Our challenge is working together to find ways of making more space for nature. To achieve this we’re working with:

• Crossrail
• The Environment Agency
• Essex County Council
• Greater London Authority
• Greater Thames Marshes
• Greening the Gateway - Kent and Medway
• Natural England
• Port of London Authority
• Thames Estuary Partnership
• Thurrock Council
• Veolia