Kent Wildlife Trust has launched the KWT Nature Restoration Fund – our most ambitious fundraising appeal yet. We’re on a mission to raise £3 million to restore habitats and reverse species decline by 2030.
Right now, in the soil beneath your feet, countless seeds lie dormant. Hidden just below the ground, on sites across Kent, they wait. Biding their time. One solitary seed may seem insignificant. If you could see one now, it wouldn’t look like much. But that single seed holds so much potential. All it needs is a little space, a bit of light - and you - to kickstart its transformation into a meadow, woodland, or heathland.
Every month, we must invest £130,000 to keep nature’s recovery moving forward. This investment restores habitats, protects wildlife and safeguards our natural heritage for future generations – and it can only happen with the support of people like you.
We're aiming to raise £130,000 by September to restore natural processes and giving nature the time and space it needs to recover. We can begin to reverse these devastating declines. Wilding is a proven, cost-effective approach; it helps wildlife return, habitats recover, and ecosystems become more resilient.
Kent Wildlife Trust has launched the KWT Nature Restoration Fund – our most ambitious fundraising appeal yet. We’re on a mission to raise £3 million to restore habitats and reverse species decline by 2030.
The Government has set a target to restore 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. We know we can achieve this in Kent, and the county you love can be wilder. But time is ticking – we must act now.
So the countdown has begun. With just four years remaining, Kent Wildlife Trust is entering the most crucial phase of our mission: to reverse the decline of nature and create a wilder Kent for people and wildlife.
Source: State of Nature in Kent 2021
We know we have the knowledge, experience and strategy to reverse this crisis. Our Wilder Kent 2030 vision sets out a bold plan to restore 30% of Kent’s land and sea for nature, aligning with nationwide goals. But to deliver it, we need to raise £3 million.
We know this is ambitious. But this is because funding for nature’s recovery is falling short – badly. Plus, the scale of the problem at hand requires ambition.
Generous people – like you – have made a huge difference across the county. Thanks to countless donations, we’ve been able to take action in the North, East, South, and West of Kent:
Donations are helping us improve access at Oare Marshes for both people and livestock so that this special wetland can continue to provide a haven for wildlife while welcoming visitors to experience the wonder of nature.
Thanks to generous support, we are able to tackle invasive sea buckthorn on the sand dunes at Sandwich and Pegwell Bay, ensuring this fragile coastal habitat can continue to shelter rare plants and wildlife unique to East Kent.
In the South, we’re working tirelessly at Hothfield Heathlands – cutting back invasive birch and bracken and supporting our grazing herd – so Kent’s last surviving heathland remains alive with purple heather, buzzing bees and darting dragonflies.
In the West, support has enabled vital habitat work at Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve – from reed planting to coppicing – helping to build thriving bankside vegetation that supports dragonflies, fish and birdlife, while protecting the lakes and wetlands.
Across the county, donations have supported our pioneering wilding projects like Wilder Blean, helped return missing species like the red-billed chough, and allowed us to reconnect over 400 acres of land for nature through the purchase of Hoathly Farm.
Over the next four years, the KWT Nature Restoration Fund will power recovery through a series of targeted fundraising sprints.
Each appeal under the Kent Nature Fund will focus on a different habitat – from woodlands to wetlands, grasslands to coast – and the species that depend on them. By working this way, we can channel resources quickly and make real progress.
We’ve already had an amazing start with a £100,000 kickstarter fund from a generous donor. It’s a powerful message: that this can be done, if we act together. Now we need you to join them. Every gift is a vital step towards a Wilder Kent by 2030.
Will you be part of a movement that will transform Kent’s wild future?
What could a Wilder Kent look like by 2030?
By 2030, we envision a county where woodlands teem with birdsong, wetlands ripple with dragonflies, grasslands blaze with wildflowers and heathlands echo with the call of restored species. Our focus is on restoring and reconnecting vital habitats such as:
From reedbeds to riverbanks, wetlands are nature’s lifeline. We’re restoring these waterlogged habitats to support beavers, amphibians, water voles and marsh harriers, and increase flood resilience.
Our chalk and neutral grasslands support hundreds of species of wildflowers and invertebrates, but they’re vanishing fast. We’ve spent decades restoring meadows and grazing regimes that support pollinators and ground-nesting birds.
We’re expanding and regenerating native woodland, especially through projects like Wilder Blean, creating rich, dynamic ecosystems where species like nightingales, dormice and lesser spotted woodpeckers can thrive.
Kent’s coast is one of the most important in the UK, from saltmarsh to shingle to chalk cliffs. They are vital for rare plants, seabirds and overwintering visitors, but they’re threatened by the impacts of climate change, disturbance and development.
These landscapes don’t stand alone. They form a connected, climate-resilient nature network that benefits wildlife and people alike. Healthy habitats capture carbon, regulate water, reduce pollution and support our physical and mental wellbeing.
Your donations will turn degraded land into thriving ecosystems. By restoring nature at scale, we’re not just saving species – we’re securing a future where we can flourish alongside wildlife.
Kent Wildlife Trust has been working to protect, restore and enhance nature throughout the county for over 66 years. In 2020 we launched our Wilder Kent 2030 vision which sets out a bold plan to restore 30% of Kent’s land and sea for nature, enhance people and wildlife coexistence and support species abundance.
Over the years, and thanks to the help of our supporters, we have made huge strides towards a nature-positive Kent. However, nature and the climate are still in crisis and Kent’s wildlife is in serious decline. Over 200 species in the county are now considered threatened or endangered. Natural habitats are shrinking or degrading at an alarming rate – the time to act is now.
With five years left to turn things around in line with our vision and national targets, we cannot afford to wait. We know we must act now, and that means that we must ensure we can continue to deliver transformative projects across the county and care for the habitats you have helped us to preserve.
To deliver our plans, we need to raise £3 million to invest in our work and help make the vision of a Wilder Kent a reality.
Funding for nature’s recovery is falling short.
National nature budgets remain a fraction of what’s needed to meet even basic climate and biodiversity targets, and international events, like Brexit, have dramatically impacted major funding streams for environmental work.
The change in the funding landscape means that securing philanthropic gifts is more competitive than ever, and what little is available is often restricted to specific project criteria.
This means we are constantly fighting to secure short-term pots of money just to keep vital work working. It’s unsustainable (literally) - and it’s slowing down the scale of action nature desperately needs.
To truly restore wild places and bring species back from the brink, we need long-term, flexible funding. We need unrestricted income that can be directed where it’s needed most – quickly and strategically.
Every bridge we build, every species we reintroduce, every sapling we nurture – it’s all made possible by people like you. We rely completely on the generosity of our members and supporters. Without you, none of this can happen.
Your donations enable us to:
We will continue to seek other philanthropic donations, including through applying for charitable grants, throughout the duration of the KWT Nature Restoration Fund appeal. We will also continue to innovate, creating new and exciting opportunities for individuals, businesses and grant-giving organisations, to get involved in saving Kent’s nature.
If we don’t secure these funds within the timeframe, it will mean that our projects might take longer, vital work might have to be delayed, and we will have less resources to support nature’s recovery.
As a charity we rely on the generosity of our supporters, members, corporate partners and trusts and foundations. We run a maximum of four appeals per year, which always ask for funding to support the work we deem most at risk. Sometimes this is to save a piece of precious habitat that is at risk of being developed, and sometimes this is to ensure a project that needs funding can continue to run.
Now, we are launching the KWT Nature Restoration Fund as a way to bring all our appeals and causes together under one umbrella. This new approach will showcase how each and every project, funding ask, and initiative is connected, and equally as vital in helping to create a Wilder Kent.
Unfortunately, there are no available match funds for the KWT Nature Restoration Fund, but we have had an incredibly generous £100,000 donation to help us kickstart this appeal.
However, if you are interested in offering a match fund it’s never too late to get involved.
If you are fundraising to support this appeal, many companies offer match funding to their employees. Just ask your manager or HR representative, and we’ll be happy to provide any documentation they require.
Get in touch with us at [email protected] to discuss match funding.
Yes, if you are a UK taxpayer you can Gift Aid your donation to make it go even further. At no cost to you, Kent Wildlife Trust will be able to claim an extra 25% on top of your donated amount. Just complete our Gift Aid declaration found here or get in touch with us at [email protected] if you have any questions.
100% of the funds donated by our supporters go directly to the KWT Nature Restoration Fund.
There are so many ways to support our work, and we value everything you have already done to help us. So, if you have an idea, or think one of the below might be for you, please contact us at [email protected]
Members, supporters and community representatives:
Companies:
Grant makers:
Chalk grassland – also known as chalk downland or lowland calcareous grassland – is an increasingly rare habitat and one of the richest in Western Europe. In England, it’s mostly found on the North Downs but there are also patches scattered along the East…
Butterfly expert Alan Sumnall offers a thorough guide to one of our most enchanting groups of butterflies – the blues.
Kent Wildlife Trust is calling on supporters to help raise £130,000 by 1 September to fund the long-term work needed to restore habitats and bring wildlife back across the county.
