Davy Down
This 10 hectare site beside Essex & Suffolk Water’s Stifford Pumping Station is a gateway to the Mardyke Valley. Davy Down has some areas of conservation importance, including a thriving water vole population and glow worms. The site also has 3 hectares of woodland, Pilgrim’s Copse, created through a millennium community planting programme to recreate historic woodland. Over 8,000 shrubs and trees have been planted since 1993 to improve and enhance the habitats for wildlife around the site.
The historic pumping station has been opened as a visitors centre and there are open days on selected summer Sundays. We fund a warden to manage the site and work closely with the Davy Down Trust, Thurrock Council and Thames Chase Community Forest to manage the site for conservation, public access and community involvement. We are actively involved in the Mardyke Valley Project for the development of the Mardyke Valley; Davy Down is used to host a variety of events for this project and run volunteer days on site.