Spring Common is designated as a County Wildlife site, which means it has been identified as an important area in Cambridgeshire for wildlife. The variety of marsh, ponds, streams, grassland and scrub provide a mixture of habitats for many mammals, amphibians, invertebrates and birds.

More than 70 different types of plants have been recorded at Spring Common. East Meadow supports a variety of grasses including; false oat grass, red fescue, creeping bent meadow foxtail and timothy, and wildflowers such as meadow vetchling, birds foot trefoil, creeping buttercup, meadow buttercup, red bartsia, silverweed and lady’s bedstraw. In the wetter areas sedges and rushes such as false fox sedge and hard rush predominate. This meadow is cut for hay in order to maintain the diversity of grassland species where as West Meadow, now called Renton Meadow is managed differently. Here there is a long-term programme of tree and shrub planting in order to add more habitat diversity at Spring Common as well as improve this part of Spring Common for wildlife. Birds and mammals in particular will feed on the fruits and seeds from the shrubs planted here.

There are several mature willow trees all over Spring Common which are interesting features and, as well as supporting many insects, they have been the focus of children’s tree dressing events.

The natural spring in the middle of the Common flows along a narrow stream to feed a shallow pond, which is almost filled with swampy plants during the summer time. Many toads, frogs and smooth newts come here to spawn in the spring. By encouraging light into sections of the streams flowing away from the pond, plants such as redcurrant, fool’s watercress, brooklime and horsetail have become established. Watercress is now growing in the pond as well as in the small stream feeding the pond.

The hedgerows and scattered areas of scrub on Spring Common provide excellent foraging, nesting and roosting sites for birds at the site. Over 15 species of birds have been recorded including song thrush, blackbird, wren, white throat, willow warbler, blue tit, great tit, dunnock, starling and common crow. Bats are also likely to use these areas for feeding, and voles, shrews, mice, hedgehogs and foxes may be seen in the rough grassland and at the bottom of hedgerows.