Temple Ewell’s Chough Champions
Blog
Temple Ewell is a proud to be the pilot school for Chough Champions, a recent addition to the Wilder Kent Awards. Learn more about the initiative here.
There was a huge public reaction to Thomas’s death. Pilgrims began to arrive at Canterbury Cathedral from across Europe and King Henry II received many high-status visitors.
Henry invested in Dover Castle, creating the great tower keep as a fitting venue, suitable for important travellers on their way to Canterbury, and making it truly ‘fit for a king'.
Sometime after his death, Thomas was attributed a coat of arms featuring three choughs, which first appears about 100 years later in Canterbury Cathedral, and, in the 14th century, the City of Canterbury adopted a coat of arms with three choughs and a royal lion. But no one really knows why the chough became associated with Thomas, other than the legend of the blooded crow. Whatever its origin, the chough has a long history in heraldry in glass, sculpture, coats of arms, flags, and even pub signs!
How many chough symbols can you find near you? Let us know at [email protected]
Read more
Chough: Inspiring the next generation through community engagement
Blog
Kent Wildlife Trust's Chough Appeal is more than just a conservation initiative—it’s a powerful tool for community engagement and education. This blog is written by Jenny Luddington, the Youth Education and Engagement Officer for Kent Wildlife Trust...
April on Hothfield Heathlands - Highland cows and nesting birds
Blog
We are into full nesting season including the birds who nest on the ground or very low down in scrub, which is over half of Britain’s breeding species including the stonechat, robin, blackbird, skylark, yellow hammer, tree pipit and chiff chaff, not to…
Grazing animal dung & its role in the ecosystem
Blog
One of the many benefits of using grazing livestock in conservation management is that they produce dung. Their dung acts in various ways to enhance the landscape and provides benefits for a range of organisms that would otherwise be excluded in a…
Buzzing with purpose: Volunteering for bumblebees at Queendown Warren
Blog
I have been a BeeWalk volunteer with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT) since 2024. I have also been a Kent Wildlife Trust volunteer joining the Pine Marten project at Bedgebury in 2025. I live near Queendown Warren and the South East Area Manager…