A year at Hothfield Heathlands with Ashford Area Warden Will
Ashford Area Warden Will Glasson reflects on his first full year working across the local sites in this blog, co-written with long-time volunteer Margery Thomas.
Topics: Hothfield Heathland
Winter wanderings on Hothfield Heathlands
Volunteer, Margery Thomas, explores winter on Hothfield Heathlands - one of Kent's last four valley bogs and one of its few remaining fragments of open heath.
August 2017 on Hothfield Heathlands
Kent Wildlife Trust volunteer Margery Thomas talks about the stunning Hothfield Heathlands Nature Reserve and what kind of species we can expect to find there in August.
November on Hothfield Heathlands: All about fungi
Long-time volunteer, Margery Thomas, talks us through all the exciting fungi at Hothfield Heathlands and their importance.
June on Hothfield Heathlands
Kent Wildlife Trust Volunteer Margery Thomas explains the nature of heathland habitat at our stunning Hothfield Heathlands Nature Reserve and how our volunteer teams help us to protect this important and beautiful reserve.
An Introduction to Sedges and Rushes
-Learn more about the sedges and rushes - plant species which are found in many of our wilder, unimproved habitats but are often unfairly dismissed or overlooked.
Lichens for beginners
-Make a start on identifying these notoriously difficult yet intriguing, beautiful and environmentally sensitive plants.
September on Hothfield Heathlands
Margery Thomas, Hothfield Volunteer and regular columnist looks at the lack of butterfly sightings in recent months, the work volunteers are doing to remove bracken and how this all impact the wider management of the last remaining fragments of heathland we have left in Kent.
August on Hothfield Heathlands: Barn owls & volunteers
By August, floral glory has passed from the orchids (heath spotted, southern marsh and a few large hybrids) to the heather or ling. As ever, we hope for a protracted display of purple in the heathy areas, which is likely if the cool nights persist. Orchid seed is now ripening. Dust-like, dispersed on the wind, the seed contains no nutrients to support germination so needs a mycorrhizal fungus to supply nutrients from the soil to its roots. From seed to flowering takes three years or more.
How a wet spring at Hothfield has benefitted the dragonflies
The wettest winters and springs on record have had at least one benefit. The ponds and pools across Hothfield Heathlands are full of water!