Knights Hill Wood is a small yet extremely valuable pocket of woodland in Lambeth, and as such helps to support local wildlife. The site is classed as a Local Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (Local SINC). It's also an important landscape feature and educational resource for local schools and groups. It contains a good supply of dead wood and stumps, and important habitat for a wide range of insects. This includes the larvae of the Stag Beetle, Britain's largest beetle, which live in decomposing wood for up to seven years, before emerging as an adult beetle in the summer. Woodland insects and fungi, provide food for birds like woodpeckers, blackbirds, robins and wrens, and wild mammals like woodmice and shrews. Some very impressive trees dominate the wood, and particularly notable is a large Weymouth pine (Pinus strobes) which dates from the days of Portobello House. In the 19th century, this was part of the grounds of Portobello House, the driveway from which divided to pass either side of the wood before reaching the road. After Portobello House was demolished, Cedar House flats were built on the site in 1949. The area encircled by the driveway became quite wild and overgrown, and after development plans for the site were defeated in the 1980s by opposition from residents and the London Wildlife Trust, the Trust took over management of Knights Hill Wood in 1989. The Trust opened up a circular path and added a boundary hedge, as well as planting other species to improve the diversity. Management of Knights Hill Wood reverted to Lambeth Parks & Greenspaces in 2002. It is the intention to declare the wood as a Local Nature Reserve in the near future.