Wilder Kent Blog

Hothfield Heathlands volunteer & writer, Margery Thomas, explores what the reserve is like at this time of year.

Long-time volunteer, Margery Thomas, tells all about March on our Hothfield Heathland reserve!

Ashford Area Warden Will Glasson reflects on his first full year working across the local sites in this blog, co-written with long-time volunteer Margery Thomas.

Volunteer, Margery Thomas, explores winter on Hothfield Heathlands - one of Kent's last four valley bogs and one of its few remaining fragments of open heath.

Long-time volunteer, Margery Thomas, talks us through all the exciting fungi at Hothfield Heathlands and their importance.

Since bison were released into West Blean and Thornden Woods on the outskirts of Canterbury, they have not only transformed the landscape but significantly grown in number.

Margery Thomas, Hothfield Volunteer and regular columnist looks at the lack of butterfly sightings in recent months, the work volunteers are doing to remove bracken and how this all impact the wider management of the last remaining fragments of heathland we have left in Kent.

By August, floral glory has passed from the orchids (heath spotted, southern marsh and a few large hybrids) to the heather or ling. As ever, we hope for a protracted display of purple in the heathy areas, which is likely if the cool nights persist. Orchid seed is now ripening. Dust-like, dispersed on the wind, the seed contains no nutrients to support germination so needs a mycorrhizal fungus to supply nutrients from the soil to its roots. From seed to flowering takes three years or more.