Our Save our Woodlands appeal has come to an end. A huge thank you to everyone who stood tall for the trees and liked, shared, donated, purchased an appeal pack from our shop, or attended our Woodland events over the last couple of months. While we didn't reach our target this time we are always astounded by the incredible generosity of our supporters. The money raised will go towards the ongoing management of our nature reserves, and supporting our invaluable Policy and Planning team as they continue to campaign on behalf of nature and influence developments to be better for wildlife. This work, made possible by you, will help to ensure that future generations can continue to explore the beauty of our woodlands too.

Although our Save Our Woodlands appeal has officially ended, you can still support this vital cause. Donations remain open for anyone who wishes to help protect and restore our woodlands. Your donations can still make a vital difference in helping us safeguard these habitats, ensuring they thrive for wildlife and for generations to come. Thank you!

You can find out more about the appeal below...

While our county’s overall woodland cover has increased in recent years, the picture is more complicated than it might seem. Much of this new growth comes from monoculture plantations – areas of dense, non-native trees, such as conifers that are grown for commercial timber. These single-species woodlands lack diversity and aren’t able to support the variety of plants and animals that can be found in older, more complex woodlands.  

Continue vital woodland management across our existing woodland reserves, including protecting ancient woodland habitat – ensuring that the precious habitat we still have is in the best possible condition and can support thriving wildlife populations, from bees and birds to butterflies and bats. 

Facilitate urgent advocacy work – supporting our expert planning team to carry out their essential work to ensure that Kent’s woodlands remain safe from damaging development and that planning decisions prioritise the preservation of natural habitats.  

Increase of amount of woodland under our protection– we will set aside a portion of the funds raised to support viable land purchase opportunities that may arise in the near future. The opportunity to buy at-risk land is often highly time sensitive – having designated funds in place will give us a better chance to secure threatened woodlands that may come up for sale unexpectedly.  

Read more about our plans for our woodlands

The threats facing our woodlands are growing day by day. Housing developments are expanding, and in Kent we are especially susceptible to the diseases, pests, pathogens and non-native species that, if allowed to take hold, can decimate diversity within our woodlands. We are already witnessing the climate change impacts, like increasing temperatures and wetter winters, that can exacerbate these threats.  

Much of our woodland management work needs to be carried out in the autumn and winter months to minimise disturbance to wildlife, so donations to the appeal will enable us to do more to protect woodlands right now, and throughout the winter. 

We’ve already lost so much of the woodland we once had, and many of those that remain are damaged – only 7% of the UK’s native woodlands are in good condition.  To make things worse, many woodlands, whether privately owned or parcelled out to numerous owners, often have no official designation protecting their use, or safeguarding their future. If sold on the open market, these woodlands could soon fall silent.  

Other ways to support...