Signs of the Times for New Look Nature Reserve

Visitors to Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve will find it easier to navigate and find out information now that state-of-the-art signposting and interpretation boards have been installed.

To celebrate the completion of the new signage as well as the new ‘Elemental Garden’, Deputy Leader of Sevenoaks District Council, Cllr. Jill Davison, performed the ribbon-cutting ceremony alongside guests from site owners, Lafarge Aggregates Ltd, and site managers, Kent Wildlife Trust.

Lafarge Aggregates has provided funding (through the Landfill Communities Fund) for the new ‘tactile’ signage and interpretation boards as well as animal sculptures and other improvements.

Carefully designed for those less physically able or with sensory challenges such as impaired vision, the new Elemental Garden has raised flower beds full of fragrant, nectar-rich shrubs and plants.

Stuart Wykes, Director of Mineral Resources, for Lafarge Aggregates, said: “The nature of the reserve at Sevenoaks started life as a living laboratory - the very first worked out sand and gravel site in the UK to be restored specifically with nature conservation in mind.  It is very exciting to see this experimentation being continued, as Kent Wildlife Trust imaginatively seeks to use recycled materials to create new habitats to increase biodiversity. 

“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Trust as the site becomes more and more accessible - physically and mentally - to future generations”.

Fidelity Weston, Chairman of Kent Wildlife Trust, added: “These beautifully crafted timber signs and boards perfectly compliment their surroundings and will greatly enhance the visitor experience. We are indebted to Lafarge Aggregates for their ongoing support in helping to make this nature reserve one of the finest in the county.”

The 55-hectare Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve was formerly a sand and gravel quarry, transformed into a wildlife haven through a pioneering project involving a unique partnership between industry and conservation - Lafarge Aggregates and Kent Wildlife Trust.

There are over 3,000 species identified on the reserve which is nationally recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of its importance as a habitat for waders and wildfowl.

 

© Kent Wildlife Trust : the largest active conservation charity in Kent, Reg Charity No: 239992

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