Discovering Crane Park Island

Keeping it Wild trainee Rianna with another post! I recently visited Crane Park Island for the first time to help with a school session and discovered what a beautiful oasis it was! The reserve is surrounded by the River Crane, so the peaceful sound of flowing water fills the air and on a sunny day, there are dragonflies and damselflies everywhere you look! There is even a river dipping platform, where the school group had fun splashing around and searching for aquatic minibeasts. The site also has an interesting history- it was once the site of the Hounslow Gunpowder Mills and the shot tower, formerly used for lead manufacture, still towers imposingly over the reserve. The combination of industrial history and amazing wildlife makes it a reserve unlike any other that I’ve visited so far on my traineeship and it is definitely one of my favourites!