RSPB Worth Marshes shows the benefits of Biodiversity Net Gain in action.
RSPB Worth Marshes is a farmland area created on reclaimed marshland and contains wetlands and remnant ancient wood.
The site’s mix of scrub, grassland and wetland habitats supports an abundance of vulnerable species. Its ditches and reedbed margins are alive with Sedge and Reed Warblers in spring, while the scrub supports resident Cetti’s Warblers and Black Caps. In summer, the vanishingly rare Turtle Dove also make use of the site’s scrub and hedgerows.
Elsewhere, the wetlands host an array of waders and waterbirds. These include Avocets, Lapwings, Redshanks, White Storks, Egrets, herons and breeding Gadwall and Garganey ducks. Teal and Shoveler ducks are present in winter too. Meanwhile, Hobbies wheel by overhead and several dragonfly species, including Green-eyed (Norfolk) Hawkers and the rare Blue Chaser, zip across the site in summer.
Local Planning Authority (LPA): Dover LPA
National Character Area (NCA): North Kent Plain
Distinctiveness units:
Grassland – other neutral grassland (medium)
Heathland and shrub – mixed shrub (medium)
Since 2008, the RSPB has acquired just over 20ha (hectares) of land at Worth Marshes, including one parcel purchased in 2020. At the time, the fields were either arable farmland or intensively grazed dry grassland. Now, they will make up the new, thriving BNG Habitat Bank.
Just over half of the site will be converted into diverse wildflower fields. This will provide an important source of food for bee species such as the Common Carder, Buff-tailed, Red-tailed, Small Garden, Large Garden and White-tailed bees. A variety of butterflies and other invertebrates will benefit too.
We’ll also create five hectares of new scrub grassland to provide valuable habitat for red-listed species including Nightingales, Turtle Doves and Grasshopper Warblers. The new habitat will also support a variety of reptiles and small mammals such as the harvest mouse and bank vole
Finally, we’ll create shallow wet features and retain winter water on the remaining land to establish a new wet grassland. This will provide food, shelter and nest sites for overwintering and breeding wildfowl, waders and herons.
The BNG parcels are adjacent to a Ramsar site, Special Protected Area (SPA) and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Therefore, they can provide additional connectivity, feeding and roosting areas for Worth Marsh’s precious bird species.
The close proximity of Worth Marshes to the South coast of England also means that many newly colonising species from Europe make their first landfall here. This makes the site an exciting location at the forefront of nature conservation in our changing climate.
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