Kent Wildlife Trust

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Kent Wildlife Trust Kent Wildlife Trust is the leading conservation charity in Kent and Medway, established in 1958.
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Kent Wildlife Trust has over 64 nature reserves covering approx. 7,500 acres of land as well as 55 miles of Roadside Nature Reserve. We have three visitor centres: Tyland Barn, Romney Marsh, and Sevenoaks. We have over 30,000 members and supporters, provide a flourishing education programme, an active network of local groups and about 1,000 volunteers. We want our comments section to be a place of thriving discussion and a space to share our wildlife experiences, stories and opinions. However, we are seeing an increasing number of offensive and inappropriate comments. For this reason, we want to remind you of our guidelines:
- Be kind and courteous to one another.
- Treat everyone with respect.
- Make sure everyone feels safe. Bullying of any kind isn’t allowed, and degrading comments about race, religion, culture, sexual orientation, gender or identity will not be tolerated.
- Do not use swear words. If these rules are broken, your comment will be removed and you may be blocked from making further comments.

"With the first frost on the reserve in early October insect activity dropped, although hummingbird hawkmoths, which hav...
03/11/2026

"With the first frost on the reserve in early October insect activity dropped, although hummingbird hawkmoths, which have had a great year, were still active mid-month and the devils bit scabious, Succisa pratensis, was still providing a feast of nectar and pollen..."

Read volunteer Margery Thomas' latest update from Hothfield Heathlands on our blog: https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/november-hothfield-heathlands-bracken-fungi

📷©️ Anne Rowe

03/11/2026

Take 60 seconds for a mindful moment, captured by Area Warden Nadia at our Oare Marshes reserve at sunset.

No trending audio, just the sound of birds and a slow pan around the wilderness.
... and breathe...

November is here, and as autumn deepens, wildlife is busy preparing for winter. Migrants arrive from colder climates, ma...
01/11/2026

November is here, and as autumn deepens, wildlife is busy preparing for winter. Migrants arrive from colder climates, mammals seek shelter and damp woodland floors come alive with some rather unusual organisms. Here's a few things to keep an eye out for this November... 🍂

🪿 Brent geese are arriving from northern Russia and Siberia to spend winter in our milder climate. Look out for flocks gathering around coastal wetlands and estuaries.

🦊 Foxes are becoming more active as young foxes begin to disperse in search of territories of their own.

🦉 Short-eared owls are moving south for the winter. You might spot them hunting in daylight, flying over low grassland, moorland and saltmarshes in search of small mammals and birds.

🍄 Slime moulds thrive in damn autumnal woodland, appearing as colourful splashes or gloopy mounds on fallen leaves, logs and tree trunks. These fascinating organisms are neither plant, animal nor fungus!

🦔 Hedgehogs need a helping hand this winter; piles of fallen leaves and branches provide valuable shelter for them as they prepare to hibernate. If you're planning a bonfire, always check carefully for wildlife before lighting it - ideally build it on the day. Leaving a pile of leaves in a quiet corner of your garden can also provide a cosy winter refuge.

What wildlife have you spotted in Kent this autumn? 👇

We are deeply disappointed that consent for National Grid’s Sea Link project has been granted. But our campaign to prote...
30/10/2026

We are deeply disappointed that consent for National Grid’s Sea Link project has been granted. But our campaign to protect Sandwich and Pegwell Bay National Nature Reserve does not end here.

The decision means a high-voltage subsea cable will come ashore at this internationally important wildlife site, with its saltmarsh, mudflats and grazing marsh. These precious habitats support important populations of migratory birds, as well as Kent’s largest seal population. They also store carbon and help protect this coastline from flooding and erosion.

For more than four years, Kent Wildlife Trust has worked tirelessly to make sure these impacts were properly understood and that nature had a strong voice in the decision-making process. Our Planning and Policy team has scrutinised hundreds of technical reports, plans and supporting documents, responded to 28 consultation and examination deadlines, produced more than 200 pages of detailed written submissions and taken part in eight days of hearings. And we were not alone.

More than 6,000 people registered as Interested Parties - the highest level of public participation ever recorded for a Development Consent Order. Thousands of you spoke up, wrote to decision-makers and stood alongside us to say that nature must not be sacrificed in the name of progress.

Thank you to everyone who has supported our campaign. Your support, collaboration and determination have been vital in ensuring the impacts on wildlife and habitats were examined and that nature had a strong, informed voice throughout this process.

We will continue to scrutinise Sea Link as it progresses and hold National Grid and the relevant regulators to account, pushing for environmental commitments to be delivered, properly monitored and enforced.

We may be disappointed by today’s decision, but we will not stop speaking up for Pegwell Bay and the wildlife that depends on it. 💚

For our full statement kwtg.uk/sealinkapproval

📷 Ian Andrews

Please don't dump your pumpkins in the wild! 🎃 Every year, our team collects discarded pumpkins from across our reserves...
30/10/2026

Please don't dump your pumpkins in the wild! 🎃

Every year, our team collects discarded pumpkins from across our reserves after Halloween. While leaving pumpkins out may seem like a kind way to feed wildlife, it can actually do more harm than good. Pumpkins aren’t naturally found in our woodlands, and while some wildlife may enjoy a tasty snack, they can make other animals, including hedgehogs, very poorly.

Want to make the most of your Halloween pumpkin? If it’s no longer suitable for eating, add it to your compost heap to provide nitrogen and moisture, or cut it into smaller pieces and bury it in your garden to enrich the soil as it breaks down. 🍂

📸 Nick Whittle via Forestry England

29/10/2026

We know there's a better path forward for both wildlife and people in Sevenoaks...

After land just north of Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve was proposed for the development of 1500 homes, we got to work - with the help of the community - in creating an Alternative Vision.

We asked residents and visitors of Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve what they valued most about where they live and what they would like to see delivered on the land north of Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve. ✍️

There was particularly strong support for nature recovery, River Darent and chalk stream restoration, wetlands, woodland and hedgerow creation, improved habitat connectivity and protecting Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve and Sevenoaks Gravel Pits SSSI from development.

Importantly, the responses also showed that people want a practical solution, one that helps contribute to the need for affordable housing, without harming Sevenoaks’ most vulnerable and important natural assets...

Can you see our vision? 🔎

Emma, Senior Planning & Policy Officer, talks through it in this video.

Learn more here: kwtg.uk/preserve-sevenoaks

28/10/2026

Our Area Manager, Stephen Weeks, spoke to Kmfm news about the recent incidents of fly-tipping and vandalism at our nature reserves, and the impact they’re having on our precious wild places.

You can help us protect Kent’s wild places by supporting our Nature Nightmares appeal: kwtg.uk/nature-nightmares

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1793910641932750

🐝 What can a tiny patch of bare earth tell us about wildlife in Kent?At Ironhurst Valley, our newest flagship reserve, t...
28/10/2026

🐝 What can a tiny patch of bare earth tell us about wildlife in Kent?

At Ironhurst Valley, our newest flagship reserve, two surveys completed this year have already uncovered 176 kinds of plants and animals, from mining bees and their cuckoo counterparts to six plants on the Kent Rare Plant Register. 🌼

Discover the fascinating finds, the habitats helping wildlife thrive and what these discoveries mean for the future of this special reserve.

None of this knowledge would be possible without the people who give their time and expertise to record wildlife. Thank you to Geoff Allen, Clare Marshall, Kat Marshall, Cavan Pledge and Michael Grant for their invertebrate records, and to members of the Kent Botanical Recording Group (Kent Botany Group) and Sussex Botanical Recording Society for compiling the plant list.

🔗 Read the blog: kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/whats-living-ironhurst-valley-nature-reserve

📸 Small heath butterfly, credit Wendy Carter

27/10/2026

Meet the Chough Champions of Temple Ewell Primary School!

Temple Ewell joined the Blue Influencers Scheme in January 2025 and are passionate about making a difference for nature. In particular, pupils took a liking to the red-billed chough - and became known as the first Chough Champions.

They spent time learning all about the chough's plight and what it takes to restore their habitat, and helping spread the word about the importance of their reintroduction. ✍️

Perhaps most exciting of all... the Chough Champions received funding from the Blue Influencers Scheme to create a documentary film all about the choughs and what the pupils learned along the way!

We hope you enjoy watching their film: https://youtu.be/xuw3azy-FRc

Learn more about the Chough Reintroduction Project here: https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/choughreintroduction

The Chough Reintroduction Project is a partnership between Kent Wildlife Trust, Wildwood Kent, and Paradise Park Cornwall. The Blue Influencers Scheme is funded by The Ernest Cook Trust and the Fund.

This film was made by the fantastically talented Emma Khan & Paul Jennings Beam Reach Media. 💚

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Tyland Barn, Chatham Road

ME143BD

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