In the 20 years since it first opened the London Wetland Centre (LWC) has amassed a remarkable list of species, including a diverse assemblage of birds breeding in the various specially designed wetland habitats, and a number of rare invertebrates. Here, current staff and others involved in documenting the wildlife of LWC provide an account of how the site has developed through its first two decades to become a vital refuge for nature in England’s capital.
It is just over 20 years since British Wildlife founder Andrew Branson visited the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust’s (WWT) London Wetland Centre (LWC) to prepare an article for the Reserve Focus series (Branson 2000). At that time, LWC was newly created and yet to open its doors to the metropolis and beyond, but Branson was impressed by ‘one of the most innovative reserves in the UK’.