How our new strategy is tackling the climate and nature crises in our county and beyond.
Scientists across the world have warned that we are entering the sixth mass extinction event, and the first directly linked to human activity.
Globally and nationally, wild animals and plants are in steep decline. We are reaching critical tipping points around this loss of nature as well as around climate change.
Indeed, The State of Nature in Kent 2021 report revealed just how much human impacts are driving dramatic changes in wildlife right here in Kent. It provided an overview of how our county’s wildlife faring, drawing on the best available data and expert knowledge.
Report headlines
- Almost 80% of Kent’s rivers, lakes and groundwater bodies have poor water quality.
- Air pollution is double the recommended average.
- Habitat fragmentation, loss of habitat connectivity and inadequate habitat management is widespread in Kent.
However, the report also highlights huge strides in conservation policy and practice in Kent, through the formation of new expert groups, ambitious restoration projects and regular publications reporting on the status and opportunities for wildlife conservation in Kent.
- Lost species have been rediscovered, such as the greater horseshoe bat and brown hairstreak butterflies and increases in populations of threatened species such as little egrets and otters.
- New statutory designations have been established, such as several Marine Conservation Zones and Sandwich and Pegwell Bay National Nature Reserve.
Amongst these success stories is the work going on at Kent Wildlife Trust – and we hope to add many more in the coming years as we implement our brand-new #WilderKent 2030 Strategy.
Our mission to work with people to restore, save and enhance our natural heritage has never been more important or more urgent. The fate of future generations hangs in the balance. This is why this strategy is ambitious, pushing the boundaries and revealing what is possible in the world of conservation.
Our Wilder Kent 2030 Strategy
Our mission is to increase wildlife abundance and climate resilience across 30% of Kent's land and sea.
Wildlife must be restored to support key natural processes like pollination; we can no longer allow common things to become rare. By working with communities and partners, we believe that we can save and restore our natural world.
Kent Wildlife Trust is working to ensure that our wildlife is protected and restored, now and in the future. We work to help organisations, people and communities connect with nature and care for our natural places.
Through membership, engagement and partnership, we aim to develop a lifelong relationship with communities and provide opportunities for people to take action for wildlife locally, nationally and internationally.
We will achieve this 2030 vision by meeting three key goals.
Goal 1: We defend and restore
Target: Double the area of land and sea under nature-positive Kent Wildlife Trust ownership, management and influence.
We'll continue to develop nature-based land management practices, while giving wildlife a voice through our campaigns and communications.
We will achieve this by implementing our Wilder Grazing Strategy, delivering an array of projects (including Wilder Blean, the Chough Reintroduction and Pine Marten Restoration) and managing our incredible nature reserves.
Goal 2: We inspire and collaborate
Target: Inspire 25% of Kent’s population to take meaningful action for a #WilderKent.
We cannot deliver #WilderKent 2030 on our own. To inspire others, we will increase our engagement with communities, businesses and stakeholders to reach a larger, more diverse range of people. We will work with people and partners across Kent and build a groundswell of support for Wilder Kent 2030.
Goal 3: We strengthen and grow
Target: Diversify our income sources and strengthen our systems to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions.
We will innovate through continual learning from national and international best practice, sharing our success and failures along the way so that others may learn from us. This will allow us to become a more resilient, demonstrably impactful and sustainable organisation.
We will achieve this through a digital transformation of Kent Wildlife Trust, pioneering schemes such as Wilder Carbon, as well as through our traditional income streams (such as Visitor Centre and events income).
Help us create a #WilderKent
We will not be able to create a #WilderKent without support. We need you to join us as we embark on this ambitious journey to stop the decline of nature in Kent.
There are many ways in which you can join us in this new era of conservation:
Notes
The State of Nature in Kent 2021 report was compiled by Kent Wildlife Trust under the guidance of a Kent Nature Partnership steering group, funded by Kent Wildlife Trust, Kent County Council and Kent Planning Officers Group.