Medway Valley Countryside Partnership

04/09/2026

04/09/2026

Last week, in TAG. September is here and this means the TAG team are back to doing Tuesdays and Thursdays again. This week we were out at St Paul's Scout Group and Raptor ESU Scout Hut, in Boxley. We were there earlier in the year to help with the management of there land and to get control over the bramble which had slowly encroached on the land. However this time we were there to help prep there land for some hedgerow planting in the winter, as well as creating habitat piles and build dead hedges. We were lucky with the weather and made great progress on the site.

28/08/2026

Yesterday for TAG we were at Meadow bank for Bearsted Parish Council, carrying out vegetation management and levelling out and filling the steps we created last year. we managed to avoid the worst of the rain and were dry whilst carrying out our tasks, though the rain was needed for all the vegetation that had dried up over the summer.

26/08/2026

There was a very productive litter pick earlier from Whatman Park to Allington Lock and back. Thanks to Barry - one of our regular volunteers, MPS for the picking from the land, Maidstone Canoe Club for the rubbish removal from the water, Freedom Fitness for the use of their car park, Maidstone Borough Council for the rubbish bags and post event rubbish collection and Environment Agency for commissioning this event. One of the canoeist found a green coconut, which she was intent on taking home. We picked eighteen bags of rubbish and assorted bits and pieces and there was, of course, a trolley - there is always at least one trolley! Well done everybody!

21/08/2026

Yesterday for TAG we were at Brungers pond for Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. Where we were doing vegetation clearance, building a dead hedge and removing litter some bigger than other, as we removed a whole three seat sofa on site. whilst on site we also removed some overhanging and snapped branches for safety.

19/08/2026

Hi All yesterday, Alex was out surveying at Great Lines Heritage Park, for Medway Council. Yesterday didn’t have as high numbers out as previous weeks at great lines, likely due to the overcast skies and lower but nice temperatures. However, the diversity was still good for the butterflies for example we found common blue, brown argus and small copper, as well as many more. In addition to the butterflies, I spotted a Hummingbird hawk moth that had actually stayed still for long enough to take good pictures of it. So far on the summer surveys, Great Lines Heritage Park has been the most diverse and popular for bumblebees and butterfly’s and is great meadow habitat despite the dry summer we have had.

17/08/2026

Last week in TAG. We were at Penenden Heath last week for Maidstone Borough Council. We started early to miss some of the heat and we worked under the woodland as much as possible; we still got a lot done. We cleared some areas of bramble discovering some tennis balls that had been lost by the tennis club, but left some bramble for coverage the wildlife, removed the lower hanging branch, managed the invasive cherry laurel that had started to re grow and removed the epicormic growth on the sweet chestnut.