[5] It is home to a variety of birds, including the Eurasian siskin, Nightingale and Lesser redpoll, and around 450 species of fungi.

Part of it was a mere which was drained in the nineteenth century, and some relict wetland plants survive such as saw sedge and fen wood-rush.

[6][8] In October 2015, archaeological work to recover a WW2 Spitfire, flown by Pilot Officer Harold Penketh, that crashed into Holme Fen on 22 November 1940, was undertaken.

Led by Oxford Archaeology East's project director Stephen Macauley, the teams located and recovered artefacts from the crash.

A film of the excavation was shown at the Great Fen's Countryside Centre, Ramsey Heights on 27 September, 2019.