Wilder Coast Volunteers

How local people have become the eyes and ears of the Bay!

Pegwell and Sandwich Bay National Nature Reserve is Kent’s largest National Nature Reserve.  It has also been granted Ramsar, SSSI and SPA protection and contains a wide array of important and fragile habitats that are vital to allow the many rare and threatened sea and wading birds that travel here annually, to rest and recuperate.

As you can imagine, taking responsibility for the management of such a large site is no easy feat, but one certainly made easier by our enthusiastic team of Wilder Coast Volunteers!

This role focusses on helping to monitor and record activities that occur in the Bay which may cause disturbance to birds that rely on our mudflats, saltmarsh and shingle beaches to rest, feed and even nest. Being such a beautiful stretch of largely undeveloped coastline, Pegwell and Sandwich understandably attracts recreational users including kite surfers, dog walkers and paddlers. Having local people be the eyes and ears of the Bay helps us to keep track on any issues, gather data for reports and even in some cases to make changes to access to help protect the vulnerable wildlife and habits.

The role is relaxed and flexible one allowing for people to fit a weekly walk around the Bay into their schedule. Where volunteers ask for greater responsibility, we also train individuals to engage with visitors, whether that be simply by welcoming to the Nature Reserve and helping them to understand the access and activity guidelines or reminding people of the importance of avoiding the mudflats and following the PSPOs regarding dog walking. We invite volunteers to join us on our public engagement events including our FREE guided walks and talks that we run with the wonderful support of Bird Wise East Kent. Volunteers have commented that this has helped them feel more confident in speaking to visitors and encouraging them to take interest in the local wildlife.  We have had positive feedback that the public have been “very supportive and thank us for the work Kent Wildlife Trust do”.  Many regular users of the Bay have also come to recognise our team and value our efforts to help encourage tourists and regular walkers to understand how to enjoy the Bay whilst giving birds and seals the space they need.

We have a long way to go to help some of our more threatened bird species to recover their numbers, which have been badly affected by disturbance in recent years particularly during lockdown. However, with the help of passionate advocates for wildlife, we hope we can gain the support of the wider public to join us in ensuring Pegwell and Sandwich NNR remains a safe haven for wildlife for years to come.

For more information about becoming a Wilder Coast Volunteer at Pegwell NNR or at Oare Nature Reserve and South Swale use the links below.