This is Talk on the Wild Side. I'm Rob Smith, and in this episode, bugs matter. And bugs really do matter. Don't just take my word for it. As Sir David Attenborough no less puts it, if we and the rest of the backboned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world's ecosystems would collapse.
With a new UK Government now in situ, Becky Pullinger, head of land use planning at The Wildlife Trusts, reviews what is needed to deliver on one of their key manifesto pledges – to build new homes – in a nature and climate-friendly way.
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.
In episode 9 of Talk on the Wild Side, Rob Smith speaks to Sir Roger Gale, MP for North Thanet and Deputy Speaker, about why the National Grid need to Rethink Sea Link. If we don't hold them to account, he warns, we would be "failing our future generations."
This year, Kent Wildlife Trust, in collaboration with Wildwood Trust and Sussex Wildlife Trust, Ashdown Forest and Forestry England, is beginning to explore the social and ecological feasibility of reintroducing pine martens to Kent and Sussex, while co-developing a ten-year strategy with a wide range of stakeholders to restore the species in the South East.
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.
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.
The Nature 2030 campaign asks that we make our polluters pay. In the last month, the government have been working hard to scrap regulations on nutrient neutrality which do just that. Find out more about this story in this blog.
A unique collaboration between Kent Wildlife Trust and Essex & Suffolk Gliding Club
As the COP27 conference begins we're looking for the UK and World Governments to not only talk but to take action and fight the climate crises that we all face. But what is COP27 and how will decisions made in Egypt affect us in Kent?
