Wick Farm at Fingringhoe in Essex became The Freshwater Pit in the 1920's. Decades later, Essex Naturalists’ Trust bought the worked-out gravel pit, and created Fingringhoe Wick Nature Reserve. It exists because ancient Essex was once gripped by ice ages. Stone Age people, Roman settlers and medieval farmers have come and gone, and wildlife now rules. Echoes from the historic past are woven into this account that traces the story of the nature reserve from its origins as an industrial wasteland. Island of Wildlife is a history of the reserve, and also a benchmark of our knowledge of the flora and fauna that will be a reference point in the future.