Living Wetland Theatre and Waterscapes Aviary, Slimbridge, for Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, with BD Landscape Architects, Kay Elliott Architects, Hoare Lea and David Dexter Engineers

Completed in 2021, Gloucestershire’s Living Wetland Theatre forms part of a £4.4m funding awarded to WWT Slimbridge by The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Alongside a new lagoon, new stream and waterscapes aviary, a 360-seat theatre with shelter from the elements allows visitors to pause and learn about the local wildlife through immersive experiences and activities hosted by the Wetland Centre.

Who is on the project team? (designer, consultants, etc)

Landscape Architects : BD Landscape Architects

Architects Architects: Kay Elliott Architects 

Engineer: Hoare Lea

Civils Engineers: David Dexter Engineers

Describe the context of this project, its neighbourhood and people?

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s (WWT) site at Slimbridge is a wetland and wildfowl reserve located in Gloucestershire to the east of the River Severn estuary, comprising over 800 ha of pasture, reed beds, lagoons and a salt marsh which provides habitat and nesting grounds to a wide variety of water birds and wetland wildlife, some who visit on migration and others who live there all year round. The centre has an expansive collection of captive wildfowl and is involved in international breeding research projects including endangered species. Slimbridge is open to the public all through the year and hosts a range of educational activities. The existing site included an uninsulated Tropical House, built in the early 1960s, which was tired and expensive to run; this was demolished to facilitate the development of the new Theatre and Aviary. The new native UK wetland experience is far more in keeping with the character of Slimbridge than the previous tropical house, with WWT’s ethos focused on nature conservation, wetland habitat education and how they can help build climate resilience. The approach to the landscape design for Slimbridge Living Wetland Theatre and Waterscapes Aviary reflected a shared aspiration for creating an accessible, inspiring and educational landscape that sits within the wider wetlands environment and reflects WWT’s conservation values. 

Describe the intervention you’ve made, including its purpose and motivation? How will it contribute to climate resilience?

The Living Wetland Theatre is an open-air venue for interactive conservation-themed presentations, films and waterbird flight demonstrations. Within the Waterscapes Aviary, a new lagoon and wooded wetland was created, fed from a new stream, connecting to the wider wetlands. Extracts from WWT’s evaluation report of the full Slimbridge 2020 project for the Waterscapes Aviary :- “…showcases the best of UK wetlands with a wide range of UK wetland species from four different UK habitats (i.e. estuarine lagoon; reedbeds; streams and ponds; wooded wetland). The response from visitors has been overwhelmingly positive with the Aviary giving close contact to rare and common UK species…. A face-to-face survey of 30 visitors to the aviary at Easter 2022 showed that visitors relish the “closeness of the birds and the natural environment” and “seeing the birds acting as they would in wild”. When asked how the aviary made them feel, visitors commonly said “calm, restful, happy, amazed, peaceful, relaxed”. A BDRC survey of 599 visitors showed that 89% of visitors felt the exhibit was effective in communicating WWT’s mission - including that wetlands store huge amounts of carbon and are good for our mental health and wellbeing.. “For many, this is a first opportunity to spot birds that WWT hopes they will go on to explore in the wild. WWT’s aim is for everyone to leave this exhibit feeling refreshed, with a greater connectedness to the world around them and a strong desire to engage with it …to support and conserve our wetland heritage.” 

How are you seeking to foster community, welcome visitors and attract tenants? How are you responding to changing demographics, behaviour, market context, policy, transport habits and the climate crisis since winning planning?

The Waterscapes Aviary, themed on UK wetlands (e.g. reedbed, marsh and tidal estuarine environments) houses a variety of bird species The wetlands are planted to showcase as much about plant biodiversity as the wildfowl and wetland minibeasts that live there. The fully inclusive Living Wetland Theatre provides opportunity for individuals, families, larger groups such as schools to access live interactive talks and films presented by Slimbridge’s leading experts. Events are organised debating pressing environmental issues and Summer Science demonstrations provide inter-active opportunity for people to explore how they can make a difference for nature at home. A main access path rising up through the aviary offers elevated views over the stream and lagoon, provides visitors with an immersive experience through the wetland environment. A range of surface treatments appeals to all levels of ability, e.g. bridges, boardwalks, narrow paths, crow’s nest views and the ability for visitors to see above/below the surface of water. Being DDA compliant provides visitors with access to wildlife habitat and opportunities for interaction with the environment that may otherwise be inaccessible to wheelchair users. This is an important part of the project. Daily talks engage visitors in a deeper understanding of wetlands, wetland wildlife and their wider impact on carbon storage, flood management and wellbeing. Research by WWT is showing that being around wetlands and their wildlife can help us regain a sense of peace and provide us with a place to recuperate and escape life’s daily stresses.