Wilder Kent Blog

Learn more about the wildlife and wild places in Kent and beyond.

Wilding earth worm
Lauren Heather

The importance of dung

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 machinery-based site management scheme.

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Why are hedgerows important?

Hedges - they sit at boundaries, at the edges of gardens, fields, and roads. But too often, they’re relegated to the edges of our minds...

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Three BIG reasons why woodlands are so important

Matt Huggins explores why our woodlands are an important part of our landscape, looking at how they give back to nature and to us. As our woodlands are under threat, it's more important than ever to preserve what's left and fight to keep them alive. Will you join us in saving our woodlands?

Wilding A row of people at the UNEP World Environment Day event in Brussels

A Darent Valley farmer's World Environment Day experience

John Dinnis of Filston Farm (part of the Darent Valley Farmer Cluster) wrote this blog about his experience at World Environment Day in Brussels with Defra and UN delegates. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) wanted a farmer to attend - a farmer who works directly on the land and who could give their perspective on the challenges and advantages of being involved with a water quality or river restoration focused project. By the sounds of it, he had a great (if unexpected!) day - read on for his experience.

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©Philip Precey

Poisonous plants & grazing animals' natural instincts

In Kent, our grazing animals roam the reserves using their instincts and experience to guide them towards delicious nutritious vegetation and away from potentially toxic plants. This deep-rooted wisdom is a product of evolution and survival instincts passed down from generation to generation but particularly prevalent in the old-fashioned breeds that we use.

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How to enable landscape resilience

Industrial agriculture was designed to maximise the production of a single crop or animal, but these practices are not always best for the environment or the farmer. The solution is to build a resilient landscape where food production is maximised AND in harmony with nature.