London Wildlife Trust - Largest London wetland reserve to open

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Largest London wetland reserve to open in October Walthamstow Wetlands, Europe’s largest urban wetland reserve, opens to the public on Friday 20th October. London Wildlife Trust has led on this ambitious project alongside London Borough of Waltham Forest and Thames Water, creating a 211 hectare wildlife haven just 15 minutes from central London. Our staff and rangers will be on site to protect the important wildlife, which includes large numbers of over-wintering waterfowl, and they will also be offering all sorts of exciting events and opportunities for visitors. Check out the new website (still under development) for all the latest news from Walthamstow Wetlands. London's spiders – separating fact from fiction At this time of year spiders seem more common, creating impressive webs in our gardens and tumbling into bath tubs. The tabloid newspapers love to spin tales of ‘huge, sex-crazed' spiders invading our homes, but is it all just a web of lies? Check out our new spider web page to learn the truth - you’ll be surprised how many hundreds of fascinating (and harmless) spider species there are, even in London! Donate your old pound coins and help us build our ‘hedge’ fund Your old ‘round pound’ coins will no longer be legal tender after 15 October. If you’ve got any hiding down the edge of the sofa, lying idle in your piggy bank or weighing down your pockets, why not donate them to London Wildlife Trust and help us build our ‘hedge’ fund. Just six old pound coins could help us create a metre of hedgerow – vital habitat that provides shelter, food and green corridors for wildlife such as hedgehogs You could bake some wildlife-themed biscuits and ask your friends and colleagues to donate their old pound coins then take them to your bank. Details of how to pay your fundraised donations to London Wildlife Trust can be found on our website Wildlife events this October Autumn is a great time to see and enjoy wildlife, and we’ve a cracking line-up of events across London to get you closer to nature. We’ve family-themed fun stuff for little ones, an evening bat walk, several fungi discovery walks and an Open Day at Gunnersbury Triangle, an important wooded nature reserve that is just a stone’s throw from Chiswick Park tube station. Almost all of these events are free, although donations are always welcome! Check out everything that is on offer – just visit our website! Image credits: Nadia Ward, Chris Maguire & Daniel Greenwood