Taking to the outdoors and stepping out in the county’s nature is something you must experience here in Kent. Our beautiful rolling landscapes and natural woodlands creates stunning views and scenic walks that are enjoyed by many. Over at Kent Wildlife Trust, it’s in their nature to ensure that our wildlife and wild spaces are protected and through their #WilderKent 2030 Strategy, they've set three key goals to deliver urgent action that must be taken to tackle the nature and climate crises. By working together as a community, we can all do our bit to tackle the climate crisis, and here at Visit Kent we’ve crafted a Sustainable Tourism Action Plan to positively impact Kent’s community, climate and nature by working collaboratively with local tourism businesses including our friends over at Kent Wildlife Trust.
Want to experience the wilder side of Kent? Or perhaps you’re looking to get involved and support the Kent Wildlife Trust and their mission? Let’s find out how…
Discover the Projects
Wild About Gardens
Calling all gardeners or anyone who’d like to learn a thing or two about how to upkeep your garden space or local communal areas in a nature friendly way! Kent Wildlife Trust and their Wild About Gardens team are here to give you some top tips, helpful information, and useful resources on how you can protect our wildlife. From hosting Open Gardens to Online Workshops but firstly, let's take a look at how you can get started. Step out onto the first stepping stone to support the wildlife, and look into starting a wildlife garden, growing wildlife-friendly vegetables and more!
Kent Wildlife Trusts also ran another amazing project - the Bugs Matter survey, where they asked citizen scientists all over the country to measure insect splats on their vehicle number plates as a measure of insect abundance. The important data gathered from this survey will support Kent Wildlife Trust to make significant strides in understanding the challenges facing our insect populations. Keep your eyes peeled as the findings will be shared soon!
Visit and Experience
Wildlife Study Days
Looking to increase your knowledge on how you can protect our wildlife? Then a Study Day with Kent Wildlife Trust will help you do exactly that. Whether you’re a beginner or have experience with the nature of our county, the Study Days aim to improve knowledge and identification techniques so you can increase and enhance your own levels of information, with leaders there to guide, support and fill you in on their own expert knowledge. Their courses range from face-to-face in the nature of Kent, including Camera Trapping for Wildlife Conservation and Beaver Ecology and Field Signs to online programmes, like their UK Habitat Classification course - there’s plenty to learn with Kent Wildlife Trust, after all, It’s in their Nature!
Romney Marsh Visitor Centre
Explore the landscape, discover the fascinating displays, and get lost in the nature of the Romney Marsh. A visit to the Romney Marsh Visitor Centre and Nature Reserve is an amazing way to uncover the nature of our county. The award-winning, eco-friendly building is the proud holder of a Gold Award in Green Tourism Business Scheme - the first such award for a visitor attraction in Kent, nestled on an 11-hectare reserve and is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest. Explore the site and you’ll come to find a range of wildlife conservation, from the dune grassland, mosses and lichens and seasonal ponds, where you’ll find nationally important populations of great crested newts and great silver beetles, dragonflies, and damselflies… and you might be lucky enough to spot the rare medicinal leeches.
With friendly, knowledgeable volunteers to offer their guidance and information, light refreshments in the café and a gift shop equipped with wildlife information, locally sourced plants, produce and preserves and more, there’s plenty to explore and discover over at the centre.
Why not plan your visit around one of their fascinating events? Take part in their Guided walk: Poisonous Plants event in October and learn how to identify a variety of poisonous plants. Keep a look out for more events here.
Get Involved!
Become a Kent Wildlife Trust Member
Not only that, but there’s plenty more you can get involved in! Why not become a Kent Wildlife Trust Member and support the organisation’s mission and contribute to achieving their goals. As a member you will receive exclusive benefits like having a say in how the charity is run, vote at their AGM, or become a Trustee yourself, as well as receiving regular e-bulletins & newsletter updates, a member exclusive “Wilder Kent” magazine 3 times a year and early access to event booking and volunteering. Find out more about becoming a member and join today to receive an exclusive 'Welcome to the herd' tote bag!
Volunteer with Kent Wildlife Trust
Want to get a little more hands on and get stuck into the nature of Kent? Then you’ll be pleased to hear that you can have the opportunity to join the Kent Wildlife Trust volunteering team! Work on the nature reserves, greet visitors at the Visitors Centres or support people in the journey to learning more about wildlife – whatever your area of interest, you’ll make a great impact and contribution to the work of the organisation, all whilst developing your own skills, meeting new people, and stepping out in nature.
Shop From a Range of Kent Wildlife Trust Products
Why not shop with Kent Wildlife Trust and give into the temptation of saying “I’m just having a browse” – because something that represents a memory of your visit or experience with the Trust is well worth the purchase, especially when you know 100% of all profits generated goes back into protecting Kent’s wildlife. Whether you’re looking to adopt a species, buy branded clothing, books, or gifts, with free UK shipping, have a browse of their online shop and find out what’s in store.
Support Kent Wildlife Trust and Donate
From volunteering to becoming a member, we’ve almost covered it all! But there’s more ways in which you can support Kent Wildlife Trust in working towards a #WilderKent. The generosity of the public who have donated has helped the Trust to purchase, restore and protect some of Kent’s most iconic natural spots, and with your contribution, they can continue their important work to protecting our natural landscapes and wildlife.
