40 miles from London, on the Isle of Sheppey, lies one of the UK’s only family owned and managed National Nature Reserves: Elmley Nature Reserve, a sanctuary of marshes and big skies.

Located on the low-lying Isle of Sheppey, against a backdrop of factories and derelict docklands, Elmley Nature Reserve is home to the largest lowland collection of breeding waders in the country. In the 1980s, landowners and passionate conservationists, Philip and Corinne Merricks, decided to turn the 3,300 acres of marshland into a haven for wildlife. When their daughter, Georgina Fulton, took on the Estate with her husband, Gareth, they identified an opportunity to create a responsibly managed area for nature tourism to benefit people and nature alike. 

In this Zulu Green Room, we speak to Gareth and Georgina on the history of Elmley, how they have integrated nature tourism into a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), and its future in the face of rising sea levels.

The history of Elmley Nature Reserve 

“In the 1970s, Elmley was just like any other mixed arable and grazing farm," says Gareth. "At the time, government policies were heavily incentivising farmers to intensify the development of arable land. Then in the early 1980s, the area was designated a SSSI for its invertebrate and bird populations. Philip Merricks [Georgina’s father] could have worked around it and continued to farm as before. Instead, he chose to focus on restoring the marshland ecosystem by becoming more proficient in managing the land for nature using ground nesting bird populations as a proxy for habitat in excellent condition. Usually, an Estate may have between 10-15% of the whole designated as an area of SSSI. At Elmley, 95% of the holding was designated for conservation. We have radically restored habitat at landscape scale for 40 years.” 

“Forty years ago, nature tourism had not yet landed as a concept outside of safaris in Africa,” says Georgina. “When we took on the Reserve, we wanted to factor in the people side alongside nature and see how we could most effectively manage people having a closer and deeper experience in our open landscape.” 

Yet, managing a landscape-scale wetland and SSSI was not without its challenges. 

Opening the doors to nature-tourism 

“When we opened our doors ten years ago, we knew that we wanted to create a place where people could be immersed in nature while living in comfort. There are nine million people within an hour of Elmley who we knew would appreciate access to a wild space,” says Georgina.

After taking on the land, Gareth and Georgina restored Kingshill Farm at the centre of the Reserve, turning the old farmhouse farmhouse into a high-end family retreat, an old Kentish barn an events space, and installing several shepherd’s huts and cabins, all with views over the Reserve in and around the marshes.  

“Kingshill Farm was itself dilapidated when we took it on. There was a tiny generator, no mains electricity, and we were completely off-grid following 40 years under tenancy,” says Georgina. 

“Our vision was to maintain the best possible nature restoration work that Philip established, along with bringing people and climate together as one joined-up initiative. Previously, those elements had felt disjointed. To do this, we have three key strands: 

• High quality nature tourism and events drawing in a new audience to the Reserve and supporting the wider Estate’s business diversification; 
• Nature Recovery pushing beyond conservation to reintroduce species and adapt our habitat for future challenges. We aren’t evangelical about any one approach and use a full spectrum of techniques across the Reserve from closely managed grazing to fully wild coastal processes;
• Social – we set up a not-for-profit to enable public visits year-round. This now also delivers our membership organisation and all our wildlife surveying and data gathering."

At the frontlines of flood risk 

Elmley’s coastal location puts it directly at the frontline of climate change. 

"The sea level rise, coupled with more frequent and intense winter storms means our sea defences are eroding faster, and the sea is coming over the top of the sea defences more frequently.” says Georgina. 

“Saltwater coming over the sea walls can change habitats very quickly.” says Gareth. “As a business, there is a real risk that we’ll lose between 100 to 350 acres of rare freshwater habitat. While it’s extremely rare to have over a thousand breeding pairs of ground nesting birds on a lowland site, we need to ensure that other areas of high-quality habitat are created for them on higher ground before our low-lying coastal areas transition over the coming century. Just as the tide dictates our daily rhythm, so too does it dictate what becomes a freshwater or saltwater habitat.” 

“The reality of climate change is very stark,” says Georgina. “We are having some honest conversations with our local Environment Agency right now to see how we can build resilience and explore the opportunities for salt marsh creation, coupling them with the possibility of carbon storage."

Engaging local communities 

“Elmley is situated within one of the most deprived areas of the UK. It is vital that we extend the benefits of nature to the local community, reframing the island and reinforcing its beauty to remove any stigma of living here, all while creating space for job opportunities, work experience placements, and research projects,” says Georgina. “Since building the necessary infrastructure on the Reserve, we have opened the Friends of Elmley initiative to make it more accessible for local visitors and work with groups such as the NHS to open access to nature from the perspective of mental health.” 

Looking ahead 

In the fifty years since Georgina’s father started the work towards nature restoration, Elmley Nature Reserve is a testament to nature’s ability to recover. 

“Touching on the future of climate change and pressure from development, Elmley and spaces like it are going to be increasingly under pressure and increasingly special. Rather than take the approach to nature restoration that protects by keeping people out, we need to serve the needs of the people in tandem with protecting wildlife,” says Gareth. 

“Land management has not been so dynamic for generations. There is a huge opportunity for landowners to restore nature viably, and tailor initiatives to your own patch. At Elmley, our team of volunteers and researchers have been working with diverse range of specialist groups and local universities. Every year you can see that this work has a positive effect.” 

“You can also see the change in the sky,” says Georgina. “When we publish the annual wildlife reports, it shows that this work is having a very real impact on our bird populations. Hopefully, our visitors can leave feeling hopeful, and with a deeper understanding of what nature might look like when given the chance to thrive. I think that’s the importance of places such as Elmley. It’s a place of hope as much as it is one of restoration.” 

About Elmley Estate 

Learn more and visit Elmley Estate here: 

https://www.elmleynaturereserve.co.uk/ 

Contact us 

For more information on Zulu Ecosystems’ approach to landscape regeneration and how we can help you discover the potential of your natural capital, please contact hello@zuluecosystems.com for a no-obligation consultation. 

If you’d like to join our growing team, please visit our open roles here.