THE RSPB is urging nature lovers to celebrate World Wetlands Day today by enjoying some of Kent's most important and threatened sites.

Wetlands such as Stodmarsh near Canterbury, Ham Fen near Sandwich and around the rivers Beult, Medway and Stour are an integral part of the English countryside, helping to reduce flooding and support rare wildlife.

They also act as important feeding grounds for ducks, geese and wading birds which stop off in Britain before heading to their breeding grounds in the spring.

But in the last 300 years huge areas of wetlands have been lost through drainage and the embankment of rivers, and their survival is now threatened more than ever by climate change.

The RSPB is among conservation organisations working to create and maintain wetlands as habitats for wildlife to thrive in.

RSPB wetland conservation officer Sophie Flax said: "Wetland habitats provide many benefitsfor people as well as wildlife, including helping to reduce flooding pressure, recharging underground water supplies and filtering out pollution.