Canvey Island the 30 hectares known as West Canvey marshes, acquired by the RSPB in 2007, and the Canvey Wick nature reserve. Canvey Wick is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) at the site of the abandoned and incomplete oil refinery. The foundations of the 100 hectare (0.4 sq mile) site were prepared in the 1970s by laying thousands of tonnes of silt dredged from the Thames; the abandoned and undisturbed area has flourished as a haven for around 1,300 species of wildlife, many of which are endangered or were thought to be extinct; including the shrill carder bee, the
Tamar–Tavy Estuary Seaweeds, green algae and communities of polychaete worms are all found in the estuary system; near Calstock is found the shrimp "Palaemon longirostris", which has been recorded in only two other estuaries in Britain. The estuary is also one of only two sites in the UK where the fish, allis shad, spawn. Other larger animals found in undisturbed parts of the SSSI include the European otter, the common kingfisher and dormice. Tamar–Tavy Estuary The Tamar–Tavy Estuary is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) covering the tidal estuaries of the River Tamar and the River Tavy on the border between