A Suffolk Wildlife Trust rewilding site on the banks of the River Deben.
Martlesham Wilds
Martlesham Wilds is a 117 hectare nature reserve on the banks of the River Deben near the village of Martlesham in Suffolk, England. Managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, the site was purchased in 2023 as a former organic arable farm with the intention of letting ecological recovery take the lead rather than imposing intensive management. It sits on the edge of the Deben Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest and is also designated as a Ramsar site, reflecting both its wetland character and its broader international importance for waterbirds.
The reserve is being shaped into a mosaic of wetland and terrestrial habitats. Restored and newly created ponds, wetland scrapes, and lagoons are planned, alongside the creation of new salt marsh on the estuary edge. The aim is to knit together ancient woodland, scrub, grassland, and tidal marsh through a continuous green corridor linked by the River Deben, providing space for birds, invertebrates, reptiles, and mammals to re-establish.
Although still a young rewilding project, Martlesham Wilds already represents an ambitious attempt to convert former farmland into a functioning, self-sustaining wetland landscape. Its combination of estuarine influence, planned grazing, and habitat restoration places it among the more ambitious lowland rewilding efforts in eastern England.
