North Kent Technical College was named as the winner of the Zayed Sustainability Prize for their beehive business where students use two beehives to produce honey and wax to create sustainable products. 

In July the college won a Wilder Kent Award, a scheme set up to recognise, reward and celebrate the work schools, businesses and community groups are doing in helping to create a Wilder Kent. By taking positive actions to restore nature, they are helping to create a more climate-resilient county and provide a home for wildlife. Their action benefits us locally and helps tackle the global environmental threats we all face. 

The College was also selected as Kent Wildlife Trust “Nature Heroes” which celebrates people, groups and oranisations who are taking meaningful action for nature in Kent and inspiring others to do the same, alongside several other Wilder Kent Award winners. As COP28 discussions continue on a global stage, Nature Heroes highlight the difference that local action can make. 

Other winners include Holy Trinity and St John’s CEP School, Margate for their Woodland School site within their grounds. It has been developed from scratch over the past three years and is considered to be the biggest and best classroom in the school. The children love spending time in the oasis of green which is tucked in amongst the urban heart of Margate. 

Also recognised was Lynsted Kitchen Garden, a local food growing initiative that has become a hub of community action to reduce food miles and to respond to the climate and nature emergency. They follow a permaculture approach with an emphasis on ensuring a healthy soil, rich in micro-organisms and biodiversity. Using the ‘no dig’ technique they run open days and workshops throughout the year.  

Another Wilder Kent Award winner and nature hero is Pennies Day Nursery in Maidstone who have actively put sustainability at the heart of their work since 2020. Recognising that small changes have a big impact, they grow their own food, compost, and tend to their vegetable patches and nursery garden. Most recently they have formed a forest school. 

Kent Wildlife Trust has now launched the Wilder Kent Awards for 2024-2025 and is encouraging people to sign up and showcase their efforts in making the county wilder.  

Co-ordinating the Awards is Kent Wildlife Trust’s Tom White who said: “The Wilder Kent Awards are a way of recognising and rewarding schools and community groups who are taking positive actions for nature and wildlife in Kent. Whether you're putting up bird boxes, sewing wildflower meadows, planting vegetable gardens, or reducing the amount of energy you use, you can gain recognition for your actions through the Wilder Kent Awards and join a growing army in Kent in the fight against the climate and nature crisis. 

“If anyone would like to find out more, visit our website and begin your Wilder Kent journey today!”