About the Great Fen
The Great Fen aims to restore over 3000 hectares of fenland habitat between Huntingdon and Peterborough. In doing so it will connect Woodwalton Fen National Nature Reserve with Holme Fen National Nature Reserve to create a very large site with conservation benefits for wildlife and socio-economic benefits for people.
Woodwalton Fen is an internationally important site for its communities of wetland plants and animals and this is reflected in its designation as a Ramsar site and Special Area of Conservation (click here for an explanation of these terms).
The project is impressive in its ambition and vision. It aims to combine nature conservation and management with tourism and other income-generating activities. It could also play a strategic role by storing flood water for the protection of the Middle Level System and the homes, farms and businesses that depend on the system.
The project aims to achieve its goals in three main stages. Each stage will be a worthwhile target in its own right. When the project is complete the area will be enhanced to the extent that new species will breed there. This is a long-term project managed in partnership by the Environment Agency, Huntingdonshire District Council, Middle Level Commissioners, Natural England and the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Peterborough.
