Help protect the water voles at Crane Park

Through a two-year-long project, 137 water voles have been successfully reintroduced to Crane Park.

As the water voles adjust to life in the wild at Crane Park, our Parks team politely request that visitors and their dogs keep away from the soft riverbanks at Crane Park Island and the areas immediately upstream and downstream, as this is where water voles feed, mark their territory and dig their burrows.

Supported by funding from the Mayor of London, the Environment Agency and the Crane Valley Partnership via Thames Water, we have collaborated with Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Friends of River Crane Environment (FORCE), Crane Valley Partnership, the Environment Agency, London Wildlife Trust volunteers, the Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and Wild Future. The two-year long operation began with wetland habitat restoration at Crane Park Island and Little Park and culminated in the release of captive-bred water voles along a 1km stretch of river and riparian habitat, facilitated by Derek Gow Consultancy Limited. 

It is anticipated that further restoration and enhancement of the River Crane will improve habitat connectivity allowing the reintroduced voles to rapidly colonise adjacent areas and expand their range within the Lower Crane Valley.

You can find out more about Crane Park.