The opening of a new London Underground station has given both bipeds and birds an extra opportunity. Crossrail, the company that built the Elizabeth metro line to celebrate the 60th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, has transformed the land excavated for the new railway line into an ornithological reserve. A true bird sanctuary.
A sanctuary of earth and sky
Over 7 tons of earth had to be removed to complete the excavation of the London station. Of these, 3,7 tons were used to build this bird sanctuary, in collaboration with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
The new ornithological reserve It is located on Wallasea Island, Essex, and covers approximately 160 hectares. It is made up of marshes, fish ponds, vegetation, mudflats and lakes where birds can gather. All areas created to protect animals from rising sea levels and the effects of global warming.
Call me Jubilee
It would be called Wallasea Island Nature Reserve, but for everyone the sanctuary is already "Jubilee Marsh". There is a myriad of different species: avocets, spoonbills, herring gulls, larks. Even some hares, which roam here and there out of obvious personal interest.
It's a beautiful story of recovery. Truly. Because Wallasea Island was already a safe haven for animals some time ago. An area where wildlife roamed freely. Over the years, however, the global warming has made this territory deserted once full of animals, who fled to find a more livable habitat.
RSPB, like all land conservation associations, had a long view: think, the agreement with Crossrail for the construction of this bird sanctuary was reached 10 years ago. And now, finally, the opportunity has arrived.
Happy ending
Like any self-respecting beautiful fairy tale, this one also experienced its difficult moments: it took over 1.528 expeditions to transport all the soil that made up the sanctuary. A special conveyor belt had to be built to transport the soil from the loading docks to the site where the conservation was being erected, but the goal was ultimately achieved.
Thousands of migratory birds have already visited the wetlands over the seasons, and hopefully more and more wildlife will return to the habitat they once called home.
It would be really fantastic if you could use every earthmoving carried out for construction works and excavations, and by law allocate a share to the construction of natural oases. What do you say, do we propose?
