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When most people think about wildlife in the capital, they
picture green spaces like the Royal Parks. Rivers and canals, however, contain
and support more wildlife than any other environment in London. As they flow
into the Thames, which is linked to the world's oceans, they create a waterway
web along which wildlife can travel.
The water quality of the tidal Thames has improved
dramatically since it was biologically dead in the 1950s. The wide
range of fish, crustaceans and plants provide the food source for
millions of migratory and resident birds. It now supports 121
species of fish and hundreds more species of invertebrate. If you
are really lucky you might even see a seal or porpoise.
In A Perfect World
by Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate
I was walking the
Thames
path from Richmond
to Teddington, just because I was free
to do so, just for the pleasure of light
filling my head, just for the breeze like a hand
tap-tap-tap-tapping the small of my back,
just for the slow and steady sound of the river
fanning on boats ,which was marking the time
I was walking the Thames Path as though I was water myself
The buttery sun kept
casting its light
on everything equally. The soft breeze
did as it always did, and ushered me on. |