Wilder Kent Blog

Learn more about the wildlife and wild places in Kent and beyond.

Talk on the Wild Side St Clement's churchyard volunteers posing with rob smith for the talk on the wild side podcast episode
Tim Horton

Rewilding a churchyard in Sandwich

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.

National Marine Week: The North East Kent Marine Protected Area

The county of Kent is blessed with an extensive coastal and intertidal environment comprising elements of the eastern Thames Estuary, the southern North Sea and the English Channel. In north-east Kent, located between the towns of Whitstable and Deal, is the North East Kent Marine Protected Area (NEKMPA) which includes the previously designated North East Kent European Marine Site, the Thanet Coast Marine Conservation Zone and Sandwich & Pegwell Bay National Nature Reserve.

Nature Reserves Heather Corrie Vale, pond and sunset

Heather Corrie Vale: One year on

With input from Simon Bateman-Brown, Head of Land Management, and Evan Bowen-Jones, Chief Executive of Kent Wildlife Trust, we explore the conservation work we have done at Heather Corrie Vale since attaining validation against the Wilder Carbon Standard, by Soil Association Certification.

Talk on the Wild Side

Conservation Management at Scotney Castle and Gardens

Join Rob Smith as he walks around Scotney Castle and Gardens learning how the team here are managing the land for nature whilst welcoming 180,000 visitors a year. Scotney manages 788 acres of land with 30 acres just dedicated to formal gardens and 300 acres designated as a SSSI.

Nature Reserves

Our plans for Polhill

How do you restore a chalk downland? Our appeal to purchase an extension to our existing Polhill Bank nature reserve offers us a unique opportunity to restore an additional 26 acres of arable land into a rare and biodiverse habitat in Sevenoaks, Kent. But how do we achieve this goal? Here are our plans.

The role of IT in conservation

The integration of technology into environmental conservation has revolutionised the way we protect and manage our natural resources. From remote sensing to artificial intelligence, technological advancements are providing innovative solutions to some of the most pressing environmental challenges.

Talk on the Wild Side The Minster Marshes with pylons built in the water.
©️ Nik Mitchell

Minster Marshes, its bird life, and the impacts of Sea Link

In episode 8 of Talk on the Wild Side, Rob Smith interviews George Cooper - a Thanet local with a passion for wildlife, who has been heavily involved in bird recording and ringing at Minster Marshes for many years. They talk about why Minster Marshes is so important for bird-life, the damage National Grid's Sea Link project will do to the area, and why he started the Save Minster Marshes campaign.