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Queen's Park, Billericay—a plea for marginal
land conservation
By R. Hawes
Queen's Park is an area formerly used for agricultural purposes.
Unlike most of Essex it has felt little human pressures for over
twenty-five years. It consists of secondary woodland, pre-
dominantly pedunculate oak, which was pre-determined by seed
trees in former hedgerows and other more natural factors. Species
of plants to be found are calcieoles and include Field Maple,
Spindle-tree, Dogwood, Common Buckthorn, Privet, Field
Scabious, Spotted Orchis, St. John's Wort, Self Heal, White and
Yellow Lady's Bedstraws, Lady's Smock. Crab Apple and Maple
are common and a small area of naturalized Gean occurs. Guelder
Rose, Meadowsweet, and Dog Violet are localised; Privet, Buck-
thorn and the Common Reed (Phragmites communis) are very
sparse. Cowslips, Viola tricolor and the Early Purple Orchis
have disappeared within memory. The Small Blue Butterfly has
also gone. The usual woodland fauna occurs with a large popula-
tion of thicket nesting bird species. The Pygmy Shrew and Dor-
mouse occur as interesting relicts.
Such areas are casually dismissed as scrubland but their ulti-
mate value as primary woodland far outweighs any contemporary
comparison that might be made with established and purely man
influenced landscapes. Areas like Queen's Park could easily
harbour species which have been overlooked for several decades
and are worth investigation with this in mind.
In a few years pressure upon existing nature reserves is likely
to be intensified. Moreover, land will be harder to acquire for
purposes not commercial or of mass amenity recreational value.
Land in the condition of Queen's Park is available now at prices
possibly below agricultural value in areas where no development
is scheduled. The acquisition of a large coherent area of this
nature would be an investment in two major ways: —
(1) Species threatened with extinction could be transported
to this area in which the community need never be visualized as
closed. This would prevent instances occurring similar to the
disappearance of the Essex Edible Frog and would provide a
sacrosanct reservoir of species.
(2) It is not enough to exclude people from any area without
explaining visually or otherwise the reasons for so doing. Areas
like Queen's Park can be used as integral parts of school educa-
tion. The advantage of having a separate area for this purpose
rather than using scientifically valuable sites is apparent. Only
if future citizens are shown the responsibilities and rewards of
this cultural heritage can any remnant of our present wild life
hope for survival.