The Dengie is a low-lying peninsula in Essex’s Maldon District. It is bordered by the North Sea to the East and the tidal inlets of the River Blackwater to the North and the River Crouch to the South. 

Much of the coastal land has been claimed from the sea over the generations by draining saltmarshes and is walled in against the tides. The Dengie experienced extensive flooding in the great tides of 1897 and 1953. 

Outside the sea walls, some saltmarsh remains and provides a vital carbon store, an important inter-tidal habitat, and helps to reduce the effect of storm surges. 85% of the UK's saltmarshes have been lost since the mid-1800s. The extent and quality of Essex Saltmarshes has declined due to development, rising sea levels and the recent increase in the frequency of storms. The Dengie saltmarshes have seen a sizeable reduction in the last 50 years.

The peninsula’s current land use is primarily arable agriculture. Records show that, in the past, sheep were farmed extensively and that there were also large areas of orchards, soft fruit production and market gardens. 

There is little woodland and the area’s hedges were hit hard by Dutch Elm disease in the 1970s. There are few freshwater courses. The Dengie lies between the two driest weather stations in the UK, St Osyth’s to its north and Shoeburyness to its south. The Environment Agency considers the area to be ‘seriously water stressed’.

The peninsula is on the East Atlantic Flyway for migrating birds. Its importance is recognised with designations including a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a National Nature Reserve, RAMSAR site and a Special Protection Area. It sits within the  Essex estuaries Special Area of Conservation.

We use this term as shorthand for actions to mitigate, and adapt to, the climate and ecological emergencies. 

We understand that the twin emergencies of Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss are interrelated and reinforcing.

We are concerned about both the long-term shifts in the Earth's weather patterns and the decline or disappearance of the variety in living things. We care about these both in the places we live and across the planet but we realise that our greatest agency is in our actions.

We think globally and act locally