Cowden Pound Appeal
£80,000 needed to protect and restore irreplaceable wildflower meadows. Cowden Pound is one of the last remaining wildflower meadows in Kent. Today, you have the opportunity to help Kent Wildlife Trust protect this precious and irreplaceable wildlife haven, forever.
The collection of three meadows and ancient woodland, near Edenbridge, represent a stunning wildlife spectacle – and an environment so important for our natural heritage that it has been classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
Walking through Cowden Pound nature reserve on a typical August day, you would see one of the largest displays of devil's-bit scabious in Kent: a carpet of vivid blue blooms that stretch away for acres, interspersed with the delicate wildflower Betony. You would also see clouds of butterflies including meadow brown and common blue. Birds including blackcap, whitethroat and great spotted woodpecker add to the beautiful scene.
You would notice an abundance of yellow meadow ant hills – evidence that the pasture has remained undisturbed by intensive agriculture for many years, together with a border of ancient woodland containing hazel, birch and alder. With careful observation you may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a dormouse, grass snake or brown hawker dragonfly.
Kent Wildlife Trust simply could not ignore the opportunity to purchase these very special meadows, so rich in wildlife, when they were put up for sale recently. The only reason we felt able to do this was that we were confident that our supporters, so passionate about wildlife, would once again respond with their customary generosity to help cover the costs of purchase and the necessary habitat restoration and management. This is absolutely essential if we are to respond to any similar opportunity in the future. To keep these meadows in premium condition we will need to:
- Graze the grassland with Dexter cows and Hebridean sheep
- Carry out scrub clearance from encroaching bracken and bramble
- Coppice areas of woodland to help maximise biodiversity
- Monitor and survey the site
- Support a hardworking group of volunteers who regularly help with day to day management
