• A ground-breaking project to slow the climate crisis using wild bison has reached a major milestone on what is predicted to be the hottest day on record this year.
• The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning with temperatures potentially reaching 35C – with Britons set to endure the very real effects of the climate crisis.
• In the cooler part of the day, shortly before 7am, European bison were released into West Blean and Thornden Woods, Kent.
• The bison are ‘eco-system engineers’ which means they will restore life to the woodland through their natural behaviours and offer a nature-based solution to tackle the climate and biodiversity crisis.
• This is the first-time bison have roamed in the UK for thousands of years.
• The historic event occurs two years into a five-year project by the charities Kent Wildlife Trust and Wildwood Trust, funded by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

A pioneering conservation project reached a historic milestone as European bison were released into an ancient  woodland in Kent on what is predicted to be the hottest day of the year so far, Monday 18^th July 2022.

The bison will create a more climate resilient landscape within West Blean and Thorden Woods, near Canterbury, and their natural behaviours restore dynamic and complex habitats. 

By creating layers within the forest and naturally felling trees, the woodland will move away from being a monoculture, and wetter areas will not only store carbon, but reduce flood risk.

This is the first time in thousands of years that wild bison have roamed in UK woodlands as part of a landmark experiment to test this nature-based solution to habitat management as well as the climate and nature crisis.

Evan Bowen-Jones Chief Executive Officer at Kent Wildlife Trust said: “The restoration of naturally functioning ecosystems is a vital and inexpensive tool in tackling the climate crisis.

“The bison will help to create climate resistant landscapes which can adapt to the challenges presented by the crisis we face.

“We want Wilder Blean to mark the beginning of a new era for conservation in the UK. We need to revolutionise the way we restore natural landscapes, relying less on human intervention and more on natural engineers like bison, boar and beaver.

“Equally important, is that the Wilder Blean project will connect people with nature in a way that hasn't been possible before in the UK because we haven't had big wild animals present in our landscapes. We hope that those who visit the woodland and learn about the project will be inspired by what we are doing and become champions for nature too.”

European bison are a keystone species who will help restore natural processes in West Blean and Thornden Woods. Known as ‘eco-system engineers,’ the bison will breathe new life into the ancient woodland. Their natural behaviours such as grazing, eating bark, felling trees and taking dust baths will open the canopy, creating light and new spaces for wildlife and previously missing species to thrive.

The bison will soon be joined by other grazing animals, including Exmoor ponies, Iron Age pigs and Longhorn cattle, whose natural behaviours compliment the bison and will help to manage the landscape without the need for human intervention. Their impact on biodiversity and the landscape will be closely monitored in a long-term survey programme led by Kent Wildlife Trust. 

Paul Whitfield Director General of Wildwood Trust said: “Today heralds a new dawn for conservation and the fight against climate change. 

"As well as helping the biodiversity crisis, one of the fantastic things about this ground-breaking project is that it’s going to demonstrate the very real impact nature based solutions can have in solving the climate crisis. The two are intrinsically linked and we can’t solve one without the other. 

"With this project, we’re going to prove the impact bison in the wild can have on the environment. They will create an explosion of biodiversity and build habitat resilience; locking in carbon to help reduce global temperature rise. This will act as a huge catalyst for change, with the project being replicated on scale across the country.. It will make a phenomenal difference. Its great news in these worrying times. 

“Not only this but we're giving people in the UK - for the first time in over a thousand years - the chance to experience bison in the wild. It's a really powerful emotional, visceral experience and it’s something we’ve lost in this country. It's an absolute privilege to be part of the team that's bringing that back.”

James Seymour, Natural England’s Area Manager for Sussex and Kent, said:

“We welcome the Kent Wildlife Trust’s plans to restore West Blean and Thornden Woods SSSI, and compare the benefits of different habitat management approaches, including the use of bison. We want to support projects that aid nature recovery and connect communities with their natural environment.”

This £1.125m project was funded by money raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery and awarded through the annual Dream Fund. 

Laura Chow, head of charities at People’s Postcode Lottery, said: “The introduction of these extraordinary animals to British woodlands is a significant moment in the fight to protect and enhance biodiversity. It’s fantastic to see support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery going towards restoring and increasing biodiversity and bio-abundance in West Blean woods.”

The Wilder Blean project was created as a direct response to the decline in natural species in the UK, which, according to the State of Nature Report, has seen species decline at the fastest rate in thousands of years. Introducing bison is also an alternative to traditional human woodland management, giving nature the tools and space it needs to recover.