Wilder Kent Blog

Learn more about the wildlife and wild places in Kent and beyond.

Talk on the Wild Side St Clement's churchyard volunteers posing with rob smith for the talk on the wild side podcast episode
Tim Horton

Rewilding a churchyard in Sandwich

A run down and overgrown medieval churchyard in Sandwich has been restored to a beautiful wildlife haven by a group of local volunteers who live locally and are part of the congregation at the church. In this amazing story, you'll hear from the people who brought this churchyard back to life and find out what they discovered when you peeled the ivy back from the tombstones.

Nature Reserves Heather Corrie Vale, pond and sunset

Heather Corrie Vale: One year on

With input from Simon Bateman-Brown, Head of Land Management, and Evan Bowen-Jones, Chief Executive of Kent Wildlife Trust, we explore the conservation work we have done at Heather Corrie Vale since attaining validation against the Wilder Carbon Standard, by Soil Association Certification.

Wilding
©Philip Precey

Poisonous plants & grazing animals' natural instincts

In Kent, our grazing animals roam the reserves using their instincts and experience to guide them towards delicious nutritious vegetation and away from potentially toxic plants. This deep-rooted wisdom is a product of evolution and survival instincts passed down from generation to generation but particularly prevalent in the old-fashioned breeds that we use.

Nature Reserves

Our plans for Polhill

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.

Nature Reserves A panorama of Polhill Bank on a sunny day with blue skies.

Our work transforming Polhill Bank into species-rich chalk downland

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.

Wilder Kent Strategy Paul Hadaway at the Dutch bison project walking with binoculars in hand and bison roaming freely behind him
Evan Bowen-Jones

Defragmentation: Lessons from Dutch wilding initiatives

In September 2023, representatives from the Department of Transport, National Highways, Natural England, South East Water, RSPB, and the Lifescape Project joined Kent Wildlife Trust on a discovery trip to the Netherlands to glean insights on how the Dutch have tackled the challenge of providing space for nature in a crowded landscape.