'The Dengie peninsula has few local wildlife sites and many of these are isolated in a landscape dominated by intensively managed farmland, with few areas of natural or semi-natural habitats aside from the coast'

Maldon Nature Conservation Study, [pdf](Essex Ecology Services for Maldon District Council, February 2023)

We are working to identify opportunities for nature recovery on the Dengie, acting to help nature on the peninsula. Do you know an appropriate site, or have other ideas for local nature recovery? Get involved!

The land of the Dengie sits within two National Character Area, for which Natural England has identified 'Detailed Statements of Environmental Opportunity'

• Greater Thames Estuary

• Northern Thames Basin

The surrounding waters are entirely within the Blackwater, Crouch, Roach and Colne Estuaries Marine Conservation Zone.

The Dengie Nature Network is aligned with the aims of The Essex Local Nature Recovery Strategy. We replied to the Strategy consultation and attended the 2025 launch events in Chelmsford in July and Colchester in September.

We also support:

• Essex Wildlife Trust's aim to 'create a Wilder Essex. One where wildlife is thriving, every person has access to nature and our habitats are all connected. Essex should be a safe haven for wildlife and an example to which other counties can aspire'

• The Wild East mission to restore nature in the East of England and create a nature reserve we can live in, not just visit.

In February 2025, volunteers planted 100 native tree whips, 16 Essex variety fruit trees, and 53 soft fruit bushes in Jubilee Field, St Lawrence Bay. They worked with the Essex Forest Initiative.

The initiative hopes to further develop the fruit tree area into a "food forest" with more local resident support and funding, which would increase biodiversity and create a wildlife habitat.

The St Lawrence Bay Seagrass Meadow lies just to the east of Stone Sailing Club along the south shore between the two caravan parks. There are also areas north of Osea and at Southey Creek.

Seagrass meadows have the potential to sequester and store large quantities of the carbon dissolved in our ocean, often known as 'blue carbon'. Whilst seagrass occupies only 0.1% of the seafloor, they are responsible for up to 18% of the organic carbon buried in the ocean. Seagrass meadows are able to store carbon in their sediment, essentially 'locking' away large amounts of carbon and acting as a carbon store. If undisturbed, this carbon can be stored for millennia. When seagrass meadows are destroyed, the carbon that they have stored for potentially thousands of years is suddenly released back into the ocean and can become a significant carbon source. This is why it is vital to protect our existing seagrass meadows.

The Essex coast has lost 91% of its intertidal salt marsh in the last 400 years due to land claims for agriculture, increasing coastal erosion and sea-level rise, (State of Nature 2023, (State of Nature Partnership, 2023)).

The Dengie Peninsula hosts the largest single marsh in Essex forming a part of a Grade 1 SSSI of international importance. 

A 1965 survey omparing aerial photographs of Bradwell-on-Sea reported that the salt marsh edge there had retreated up to 300ft between September 1953 and June 1960 (Greensmith, J., Tucker, E. 'Salt Marsh Erosion in Essex', Nature 206, 606–607 (1965)).

A 1986 study comparing further aerial photographs taken over a 21-year period showed heavy losses in the marsh, amounting to approximately 10% of the area (G.C. Harmsworth & S.P. Long, 'An assessment of saltmarsh erosion in Essex, England, with reference to the Dengie Peninsula', Biological Conservation, (Volume 35, Issue 4, 1986, Pages 377-387).

Salt marshes are among the most valuable coastal ecosystems because they perform multiple ecological functions that sustain biodiversity, regulate climate, and protect shorelines. They provide habitat and nursery grounds for fish, birds, and invertebrates, supporting complex food webs and contributing to fisheries productivity and species diversity. 

Their dense vegetation and sediment structure attenuate wave energy, reducing coastal erosion and flooding while stabilising shorelines and protecting human infrastructure. 

Salt marshes also act as major carbon sinks, capturing atmospheric carbon dioxide through plant growth and storing it in sediments for centuries or longer, thereby helping to mitigate climate change. 

When salt marshes erode or are lost, these ecological services are diminished or eliminated: carbon storage declines and previously stored carbon may be released, coastal areas become more vulnerable to erosion and storm damage, water quality deteriorates, and critical habitat for wildlife and juvenile fish disappears, leading to reduced biodiversity and weakened ecosystem resilience.

On Thursday 26th February 2026 we hosted an illustrated talk presented by John Buchanan, author of Wildlife of Maldon; The Natural History of a Riverside Town, taking the audience on a tour of the natural highlights of Maldon and the Dengie Peninsula, from Seals to Dragonflies, and much more besides. John went on to describe some of the many changes he has witnessed over the last 25 years, the challenges our wildlife is facing and touched on opportunities for Local Nature Recovery

About John:

John is a lifelong birdwatcher, more recently turning his attention to all forms of wildlife to be found within and around the riverside town of Maldon, where he has lived with his family for the past 25 years. Now semi-retired, he has increasingly spent his time in spreading the word about the value of our local wildlife and the need to protect it. He is particularly proud of being part of the team that created the Ironworks Meadow Community Nature Reserve along the River Chelmer