At Kent Wildlife Trust, our volunteers are one of our most precious resources in the journey to create a #WilderKent. Without their passion, dedication, and tireless efforts, so much of what we achieve wouldn’t be possible.
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.
Update from Nina Jones, protected warden for Sandwich & Pegwell Bay.
A run down and overgrown medieval churchyard in Sandwich has been restored to a beautiful wildlife haven by a group of local volunteers who live locally and are part of the congregation at the church. In this amazing story, you'll hear from the people who brought this churchyard back to life and find out what they discovered when you peeled the ivy back from the tombstones.
In this article, join me on a journey through Southroad Wood, an integral part of the Hunt’s Wood Local Wildlife Site in Kenardington near Ashford.
Join our dedicated team at Darland Banks in the heart of the Medway Towns, you will help with removing scrub and improving the chalk grassland for butterflies and wildflowers. Rotational scrub coppice and ride management to encourage breeding birds along with orchids and Adders. In summer we count one of the biggest populations of Man Orchids in the country.
Join the Blean volunteer team and get stuck in with helping to look after the iconic Blean Woods.
At Queendown Warren you will help with removing scrub and improving the chalk grassland for butterflies and wildflowers. Rotational scrub and woodland coppice and ride management to encourage breeding birds such as Nightingale and Turtle Dove, along with orchids and Adders.
Hothfield Heathlands volunteer updates
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.
