Sir David Attenborough opens Woodberry Wetlands in Stoke Newington
Sir David Attenborough has opened a nature reserve in east London.
Woodberry Wetlands, managed by London Wildlife Trust, is an 11-hectare site that spans an area about the size of 13 football pitches in Stoke Newington.
Sir David said access to the natural world was a "birthright" and should not be regarded as a luxury.
He added: "If it isn't there it's a great deprivation, and if it is there, it's what human beings deserve.
"We are part of it and if we lose contact with the natural world, you lose contact with a great source of pleasure and delight which is your birthright."
He added: "There's an awful lot of people, in the cities and elsewhere, who live in a world of concrete and asphalt and brick and glass.
"So it's a huge, huge benefit."
The wetlands surround a 19th Century reservoir and a small section of the site has recently been used as a community garden.
London Wildlife Trust said the site had more than 13,000sq metres of reed bed and 550sq metres of hedgerow, wildflower meadows and fruit trees to attract birds, bees, butterflies and other insects.
It added that access to nature was "incredibly important" for people's well-being, especially in cities.