Kent Wildlife Trust is thanking supporters after exceeding a £195,000 fundraising goal to purchase a 26-acre site in Polhill, Sevenoaks. The trust had until 1st June to secure the money and were delighted when a flurry of last-minute donations saw them tipping over the target with a day to spare.

The generosity of the charity’s supporters resulted in £195,970 of public donations being put towards the cost of the site with a wonderful donor match funding the first £84,000 two-fold, tripling that initial sum.

The site has been previously managed as a commercial farm and the conservation charity pledges to transform it into a biodiverse chalk downland. With the right management the area could become a thriving nature habitat and give the wildlife at nearby Polhill Bank Nature Reserve,  purchased via a successful appeal in 2019, more space. 

Chalk downland is important for wildlife; it is an incredibly biodiverse ecosystem which supports a wide variety of plants and animals. It is also rare and fragile, requiring careful management. Kent Wildlife Trust has years of experience in restoring these chalk grasslands and hopes to transform the Polhill site from arable farmed land to a haven for nature with ponds, meadows, and wildflowers. 

The fruits of the charity's labour are already clear to see, just a stone's throw away at the neighbouring Polhill Bank. In just a few years since Kent Wildlife Trust acquired the 40-acre site, nature is thriving with insects drawn to the pyramid orchids and wildflowers, the yellowhammer bird attracted by the insects and the common lizards seeking refuge in the wildlife ponds. 

Once restored, these precious species at Polhill will have a further 26 acres to grow, bringing a much-needed biodiversity boost at a time of nature crisis. The money raised will not only go towards the cost of the site but also, sowing seeds, livestock management, tree safety and ash die-back mitigation. It is hoped that surveys and studies will be carried out to help other organisations learn from the restoration efforts. 

Kent Wildlife Trust’s Director of Conservation, Paul Hadaway, thanked supporters: “This is a hugely positive and exciting story at a time when nature faces so many challenges. I would like to thank all of our supporters that helped us reach our Polhill target. This is an opportunity for us to buy an area of arable land that we can revert into wonderful chalk grassland habitat that neighbours our existing nature reserve. Thank you for being part of nature’s recovery in Sevenoaks.”

Comments left by donors have also been flooding in:

• “I want to protect our precious local habitats - once gone they are lost forever!” 

• “Protecting areas like this is so important for nature. I really hope that your fundraiser is successful.” 
• “Amazing opportunity to create more habitat for nature.” 
• “Good luck with this project - a very worthwhile cause” 
• “A worthy and wonderful extension to reserves in Kent.” 
• “Great work. I really hope you get the chance to expand on it and just keep going.” 
• “What a fantastic opportunity to actually get land to help nature for a change! Too much land is being taken away from it!”