… a guest blog by Samuel Phillipson, Consultant, GreenTheUK.
At GreenTheUK, we organise numerous volunteering events with charities and businesses around the country. We have had the pleasure of volunteering at Canvey Wick twice, working alongside Jo, Buglife’s Canvey Wick Community Warden.
Volunteering at Canvey Wick is especially meaningful, given the site’s unique significance. As a brownfield site and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on distinctive sandy soil, it ranks among the most wildlife-rich nature reserves in the country, home to species rarely found elsewhere.
Our first visit took place in September 2024, alongside a team from LRG, an estate agent dedicated to volunteering on various habitats local to them. Blessed with good weather and a bit of sunshine, it was a perfect day to get stuck into clearing out invasive species across the reserve. Armed with loppers, spades, and sheer determination, the team was focused on removing Sea Buckthorn, Evening Primrose and Birch saplings, all species that threaten to dominate and crowd out more pollinator-friendly flowers that species such as the Shrill Carder Bee (Bombus sylarum) rely on.
Much of the work was done by hand to protect other nearby plants, but for those with deeper roots, we used tools to complete the job. We successfully cleared whole swathes of overgrown flora, opening up space for a wider range of plants to grow in their absence.
Images Left and Centre: LRG volunteers; Image Right: GoCardless volunteers © GreenTheUK
Our second visit to Canvey Wick in March 2025, kicked off with a much rainier and greyer start. We were joined that day by a group from GoCardless, a fintech company. While drizzling rain dropped the temperature early in the morning, thankfully it cleared up by the time the full team had arrived.
We made our way to the former oil tank bases, where our task was to clear out Sea Buckthorn from the tarmac. The bases have become an important habitat for numerous species – lizards, other reptiles, and invertebrates use it for basking in the sun. Sections were also covered with lichens and mosses, creating highly specialised habitats. However, Sea Buckthorn was outcompeting other species in the area, becoming too dominant and destroying chunks of the tarmac as it grew through the cracks.
Clearing two whole platforms of Sea Buckthorn in a day was no small feat for a small group, but after a few coffee and snack breaks, we managed to show the thorny invader who was in charge and completed the task just as new storm clouds started rolling in.
Jo made these days possible and so much more enjoyable with her wealth of knowledge about the site and species within it, getting right into the work alongside us. We’re already looking forward to our next visit to this 93 hectare gem of biodiversity.
Main Image Credit: GoCardless Volunteering Event at Canvey Wick © GreenTheUK