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
Canvey Wick Canvey Wick Canvey Wick is a 93.2 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest at the south-west corner of Canvey Island in Essex. It is owned by the Land Trust and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Buglife. The site was formerly an oil refinery, and has been transformed into an area of grazing marsh. It has a nationally important population of invertebrates, including 22 which are endangered Red Book species, and three which had been recorded as extinct in Britain. It also has a nationally important population of shrill carder bees. Scrub edges provide additional