Installing and monitoring nest boxes for barn owls in the Darent Valley.

The Darent Valley Barn Owl Project is a partnership project with Kent Wildlife Trust, with Funding provided through the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme from Defra and the Kent Downs National Landscape (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

We have partnered with Medway Valley Countryside Partnership to become a volunteer hub for the NHMP.

Rectory Meadow is a local nature reserve located in Hartley. The site has areas of unimproved chalk grassland and adjoining woodland. Working in partnership with Hartley Parish Council, we have managed the chalk grassland and woodland site for several years. The management of the site is aimed at increasing the area of chalk grassland without compromising other habitat types. Our work includes; woodland and scrub management, to stop the woodland encroachment and succession into the meadow and cutting and raking the meadow before and after flowering season. Rectory Meadow is home to 193 different species of wildflowers, grasses and shrubs ranging from the delicate Man Orchid to the Cornflower.
Please Contact Lucy for more Information.

The North Downs Way is a long -distance national trail covering over 100 miles through Surrey to the Kent coast at Dover. Most of the route follows the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and part of the Pilgrims Way. Working in partnership with Old Chalk New Downs, NWKCP have been improving access to the North Downs Way by clearing the trail and adding additional steps.
Please Contact Mary for more Information or click the image for the NDW Website.

By working in partnership with the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme. NWKCP are analysing the existing hedgerow network compared to the historical network. This assessment will give insight where additional planting could be undertaken to create, reinforce or enhance landscape character in the Darent Valley. NWKCP are currently in the planting phase of the project, working with landowners and parish councils to plant and restore hedgerows.

Please Contact Mary for more information

Hall Place is a stunning Tudor house with magnificent gardens sitting on the banks of the River Cray in Bexley and is the base of the North West Kent Countryside Partnership. The site is owned and managed by London Borough of Bexley, who took over its running in April 2017. NWKCP carries out regular river enhancements on the Cray at Hall Place in the form of hazel spiling along the margins, cutting down unwanted saplings and pulling up invasive Himalayan Balsam.
For more information on Hall Place please click on the image above.

We are currently working in Partnership with the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership Scheme on a range of biodiversity projects in North Kent.

Please Contact Mary or click the image for information.

This site used to be the cemetery for the infectious diseases hospital at Joyce Green. It was abandoned in the 1950s becoming overgrown and is now a mix of mostly woodland and some grassland. It is currently owned by Temple Hill Primary Academy who use the site for forest school and outdoor learning. NWKCP have been working with DVLPS to develop a management plan and have been helping the site's local volunteer team to clear scrub to create a meadow along with installing benches, signage and fencing.
Please contact Lucy for more information.

The Churchyard is partly maintained by Bexley Council and partly by NWKCP. The site is home to lots of wildlife with lizards, slow worms and stoats being notable inhabitants. Our team of volunteers manage the site to improve it for wildlife and the local community. Tasks here include strimming the meadow to encourage wild flowers, cutting back brambles and maintaining pathways for access. We also laid the hedge running along the churchyard using the technique of hedge laying to stimulate regrowth and create a wildlife corridor.
Please contact Lucy to find out more information.

The aim of this project is to increase the number of habitable ponds in Kent for Great Crested Newts. As part of the project which runs partnership wide, NWKCP focusses on creating new ponds and restoring defunct ponds in the North West Kent area. This involves identifying potential locations of ponds, contacting landowners, surveying sites and organising contractors to carry out the works.
Please contact Lucy to find out more information about this project.

An online citizen science project looking at populations of small mammals (mice, voles, shrews etc.) in Thamesmead.

The project is part of the implementation of Peabody’s biodiversity action plan for Thamesmead. This plan aims to increase biodiversity in Thamesmead and foster community engagement with local wildlife and green spaces. A key component of conservation work is surveying and monitoring – you need to know what’s there in order to protect it. We would like to get local people, including school children involved in the monitoring of small mammal populations in Thamesmead.

The aim of this project is to provide a corridor of hedgehog-accessible gardens between Palace Park Wood and nearby Palace Field. As hedgehogs roam up to 2km a night in search of food and mates, access through gardens is vital to their survival.

The hedgehog highway is part of a wider project improving habitats for wildlife, and access for people, at Palace Park Wood. The project is funded by Enovert Community Trust, with money from landfill tax.