Community directory

Cassiobury Park

Cassiobury Park is of great local heritage importance and is also rich in wildlife. The Park has a variety of habitats, including the River Gade and the Grand Union canal. Other wetland includes: streams, ditches, springs, ponds and watercress beds. There is also wet grassland and carr woodland (wet woodland). Elsewhere there is acid grassland and veteran trees that provide mature and dead wood niches.

The wet areas in the Park are important because areas of open water, marsh and alder carr are uncommon in Hertfordshire. Only about 114 hectares of fen or marsh habitats now remain in Hertfordshire. Key habitats that are locally rare, or threatened, and require conservation action include: tall fen swamp, Alder carr, Chalk stream and acid grassland. Although watercress beds are artificial, they support a scarce associated fauna, similar to chalk streams, and this is one of only two left in the County.