Celebrating Good Land Management for Wildlife
Each year the Richard Neame Local Wildlife Sites Awards are presented to nominated landowners and others who own or manage Local Wildlife Sites, to acknowledge and enable work to manage land for the benefit of wildlife and biodiversity.
There are more than 460 Local Wildlife Sites in Kent which together make up over 27,500 hectares; approximately 7% of our county. These sites vary greatly in their size, shape and ownership, but each contributes an area of land which is of significant nature conservation value and may support threatened habitats, such as chalk grassland or ancient woodland and associated species. These sites also play an important part in creating habitat connectivity within Kent which helps to address the key issue of habitat fragmentation - a leading cause of much wildlife decline.
The Richard Neame Endowment Fund provides an annual prize for conservation efforts on Local Wildlife Sites within Kent. The way the award is structured has been refreshed for 2019, the emphasis is now on enabling work to be carried out, rather than recognising completed activities. The overall winner will receive £1000 for their project, plus free advice on land management to support and implement their project to enhance their Local Wildlife Site for wildlife. Three runners-up will receive a free visit by a land management advisor to discuss the practicalities of their project and assess the potential for inclusion in Kent Wildlife Trust project work in the future. The award seeks to enable work to enhance the nature conservation value within Local Wildlife Sites and connectivity between Local Wildlife Sites and the surrounding landscape.
Previous overall winners include:
2013 - P.J. Howe Conservation and Farming Ltd.
2014 - Bredhurst Woodland Action Group
2015 - Doddington Churchyard Group
2016 - Poulton Wood
2017 – Reinden Wood, Defence Infrastructure Organisation
2018 - Award restructured
2019 – Paxwood Girl Guide Campsite
Applications for 2022 will open in due course, please check back here for updates.