Learn more about the wildlife and wild places in Kent and beyond.
How do you restore a chalk downland? Our appeal to purchase an extension to our existing Polhill Bank nature reserve offers us a unique opportunity to restore an additional 26 acres of arable land into a rare and biodiverse habitat in Sevenoaks, Kent. But how do we achieve this goal? Here are our plans.
Our work at Polhill Bank has been ongoing for several years now. Over time, we have purchased more neighbouring patches of land there, adding up to around 16 hectares now under our nature-positive management. In many ways, our wilding journey in the area goes back more than a decade; in others, it’s only just begun.
In September 2023, representatives from the Department of Transport, National Highways, Natural England, South East Water, RSPB, and the Lifescape Project joined Kent Wildlife Trust on a discovery trip to the Netherlands to glean insights on how the Dutch have tackled the challenge of providing space for nature in a crowded landscape.
Kent’s landscape is diverse. From the rolling chalk grasslands, humming with insects in the summer, or the quiet reverence of ancient woodlands, to the iconic white cliffs that frame our coastline. These habitats support species of county and national importance, and for those of you that have explored Kent’s countryside, you will no doubt appreciate how special they are.
As the cold snap of winter rolls in across the country, our grazing animals showcase a diverse array of adaptations, evolved over time to contend with plummeting temperatures and the reduction in leafy vegetation cover across Kent’s nature reserves.
We humans have a habit of thinking in terms of opposition: there’s rain or shine, hot or cold, and land or sea – to name but a few. Salt marshes, however, are something in between.
In this article, join me on a journey through Southroad Wood, an integral part of the Hunt’s Wood Local Wildlife Site in Kenardington near Ashford.
Goal 3 of the Wilder Kent 2030 strategy set out by Kent Wildlife Trust is summed up in 2 words: strengthen and grow. Sarah Brownlie, Director of Development, explains.
