Past Events

Nor Wood, Cuxton for invertebrates and general interest. Joint meeting with West Kent Downs Countryside Trust.

Meet at TQ681683, parking is in a field at the end of Lodge Lane, Cobham.

Leader:  Simon Springate.

Joint meeting with Kent Mammal Group (KMG).  Sea watch near Dungeness light house for marine mammals and moving on to the RSPB reserve for general recording.

Bring binoculars/scopes and a seat if needed for seawatch.  

Meet at 10.30am TR 08775 16588  next to the sea watching hut on the shingle bank.  Parking at the old lighthouse TR089169. 

Moving to RSPB reserve TR067184 from about 11.30am (parking charge for RSPB non-members).  

Leader:  John Young

Oare Gunpowder Works for general interest. 

Meet  at TR001623 in car park of Oare Gunpowder Works Country Park. 

Leaders: Mike Phillips and Ian Parker

The Robert Pocock Herbarium Project

Supported by Kent Wildlife Trust & the Heritage Lottery Fund

Robert Pocock was Gravesend's first local historian, printer, creator of it's first public library and botanist. In the early 1800's he began a collection of local plants for his herbarium or dried plant collection. Long after his death, the herbarium was donated to the Natural History Museum in London. The herbarium sheets are still there, amongst many thousands of others, effectively 'lost' to us for 200 years!

The aim of the project is to find this unique record of Gravesend's botanical heritage and make images of the plant specimens available to us all. To date we have found over 180 specimen sheets.

Follow our progress at www.pocockherbarium.blogspot.co.uk  and on our Facebook page. See images of the plants on Facebook and Flickr (links are on the website, or search for Robert Pocock Herbarium)).

To learn more about the plants Pocock found and the local places where he found them, come to a one-day Conference at Millbrooks Garden Centre on July 8th 2014 This will include 4/5 talks by knowledgeable speakers, displays, tea and coffee on arrival, a buffet lunch and afternoon refreshments.

Everyone is welcome. Tickets are £10 each and must be booked in advance. Details will be available soon & can be found on the website & Facebook. Bus 499 runs from Gravesend at 9.04 to Sainsburys & returns at 16.39. Walk across A2 bridge to Millbrook.

To book a place contact Sally at   OR  tel. 01474 322171

Lower Halstow Brickfields, all records required for this site on the Medway estuary, managed by the Friends of Lower Halstow Brickfields. 

Meet at TQ859673, parking on the right hand side of Lapwing Drive, ME9 7DZ.  

Leader:  Judy Telford.

Tunbridge Wells Common for invertebrates and general interest. This site offers a wide range of habitats including acid grassland & sandstone outcrops. 

Meet at TQ576391in the Fir Tree Road car park (near the cricket pavilion). 

Leader: Ian Beavis.

Joint meeting with KBRG to Dungeness Nuclear Power Station. A unique opportunity to record scarce shingle plants within the perimeter fence of the power station.

Meet at 10.00am at TR 0783 1665 in the Dungeness EDF Training Building overflow car park (TN29 9PX).  Drive down the Power Station approach road to the first roundabout, turn right and go around a left hand bend driving to the end car park next to the shingle coastal bund.

Leaders:  Owen Leyshon and Sue Buckingham.

NB. This is a strict 'no wandering without a leader' site and no dogs allowed. Please contact Owen in advance if you wish to attend - or phone 01797 367934.

Queendown warren for invertebrates and general interest. 

Meet at TQ833632 in car park off Warren Lane. 

Leader: Greg Hitchcock.

Evening walk along the seashore from Reculver to Bishopstone for all records.

Meet at  6.30pm at TR226693 in the Reculver Country Park car park.

Leader: Ian Tittley.

Joint meeting with Kent Botanical Recording Group to Holborough marshes KWT reserve for sedges and all records.  

Meet at 10.00am at TQ706621, parking is at the northern end of Church Field, Snodland, ME6 5AR. 

Leaders:  Steve Lemon and Geoffrey Kitchener. 

NB. Please email Geoffrey if you plan to attend

Hunstead Wood, KWT South Blean woods for spring flora and general records.

Meet at TR093571, Primrose Hill, Chartham Hatch, CT4 7NT. 

Leader: Joyce Pitt.

Trundle and High woods for spring flora and general records. 

Meet at TQ894587, parking at Bottom Pond farm.

Leader: Peter Black.

Joint meeting with Kent Botanical Recording Group (KBRG) to Chequer's wood & Old park, a SSSI with base-rich alder woodland and acid grassland.  

Meet at 10.00am at TR171579 in parking area behind and north of Canterbury Golf Club car park. The entrance to the Golf Club is on the north side of the A257 about 500 metres east of a large Army Barracks.  

Leaders: Sue Buckingham and Alfie Gay.  

NB. Parking arrangements may change at short notice and it will be useful to let Sue know if you expect to attend.

Stodmarsh NNR for general interest. 

Meet at TR221609, car parking to north of Stodmarsh village, accessed by road between the Red Lion pub and the church. 

Leader: Lesley Mason.

Holborough marshes KWT reserve for invertebrates and general interest.

Meet at TQ706620 at the end of Church Field by the southern entrance to the reserve.   

Leader:  Greg Hitchcock.

'The Mammal Society is celebrating the launch of their new Heritage Lottery Funded project Mammal Watch South East (MaWSE) at Wildwood in Kent on Saturday 17th May from 10am. The ways that people can get involved include borrowing camera traps, taking part in surveys, checking out the website resources and downloading the new free smartphone app 'Mammal Tracker' to identify and submit mammal records (out in May).

At the event talks will be held on otters, hedgehogs and harvest mice, as these are the project's 3 focal species, and numerous wildlife organisations will be holding stalls at this family friendly day! Tickets are needed and get you free entry to the Wildwood Trust for the day, so come and join us to launch this important project! Please contact  to get your free tickets!

.Rare Breeds Centre for woodland flora and general records.

Meet at TQ958341 in car park at Highlands Farm, Woodchurch.

Leader: Camilla Blackburn.

Eggringe Wood and Winchcombe Down for botany and general interest.  This site has areas of both acid and chalk woodland with a colony of lady orchids. 

Meet in the car park at TR096503. 

Leader: Alfie Gay.

Foal Hurst Wood LNR, Paddock Wood for flora, bryophytes and general interest.

This site, not visited by KFC since 2003, includes coppiced woodland, a grassland wild flower area and previously grazed land which to date has never been surveyed. Sorry, this is a site where dogs are not allowed.

Meet at TQ663444 in main car park off Badsell Road, B2017.

Leader: Steve Songhurst.

Joint meeting with Shoresearch at Dymchurch. 

Meet at 3.00 pm at meeting place to be confirmed. 

NB. If you are interested in this meeting please email and request to be added to the Shoresearch email circulation list to receive updates of this and other Shoresearch meetings. 

Leader:  Fiona White.

Meet at Hastingleigh church car park at TR101444 by 10.30 am.

Leaders:  Ishpi Blatchley and Keith Palmer.

Meet at Ruckinge church on B2067, with parking in small close at Ransley Green, TR025336 by 2.00 pm.  

Leaders:  Ishpi Blatchley and Keith Palmer.

Pembury walks and valley mire for bryophytes.  Meet at TQ626429, with limited parking by Pembury Church, Old Church Road.  

Leader: Stephen Lemon

Programme to be published shortly.

Meet at TQ752593, Tyland barn by 2pm.

Loose quarry for bryophytes.  Meet at TQ758520, Parking in Loose village, on Old Loose Hill, opposite the Chequers Inn, ME15 0BL.

  Leader: Jacky Langton