Two of London’s much-loved parks are recognised as being among the most important places for wildlife in England.
Natural England has confirmed the designation of Bushy Park and Home Park in the London Borough of Richmond as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Bushy Park and Home Park were first notified as of SSSI quality last September and following a consultation period Natural England has now formally confirmed the designation of the site.
SSSIs are the country’s best sites for wildlife and geology - there are more than 4,100 SSSIs in England, covering around 8 per cent of England.
The Bushy Park and Home Park SSSI has been designated because of its internationally significant populations of rare insects, the exceptionally large numbers of ancient and veteran trees growing on the site, and the presence of extensive areas of special grassland habitat.
The trees at Bushy Park and Home Park are survivors of a wood-pasture management that dates back to the 15th century. More than 200 veteran trees have been identified at the site of which 94 are classed as ancient. The site is one of only 44 sites nationally known to support more than 100 veteran trees and is the highest ranking of 10 comparable sites in the Greater London area.
The trees include oak and lime with some horse chestnut and sweet chestnut and around 16 other species of tree. A notable feature is the occurrence of a large number of very old hawthorn trees, many of which are festooned with mistletoe.
The great age of many of the trees also provides habitat for many rare species of wood feeding invertebrates and the site ranks amongst the top 5 in Britain for this highly specialised group of creatures, for which Britain has international importance.
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