Past Events

Church Wood, Blean for fungi and general interest

Meet at TR121593, parking in the Blean Woods NNR car park.

Leader: Joyce Pitt

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

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

Leader: Joyce Pitt.

Please note that this meeting has been moved from Sunday 26^th as indicated in the programme card to Saturday 25^th.

West Wood, Lyminge for fungi and general interest.

Meet at CT4 6DP in Forestry Commission car park (Grid ref: TR143439). 

Leader: Mary Gray.

The Kent Wildlife Conference was created as a way for field naturalists in the county to meet, learn about and discuss the county's wild plant and animal
species and their study.

Now in its fourteenth year, the annual conference has covered specific areas such as Kent's heathlands, and the natural history of the Isle of Sheppey. This year, we return to a general format, covering a wide range of subjects of interest to all those with an enthusiasm for Kent's wildlife and field natural history.

The Conference will be held in the Grimond Lecture Theatre 1 at the University of Kent's Canterbury Campus, Canterbury, CT2 7NZ. Free, ample parking is available all day in the main visitor car park on site and there is a frequent bus service to the university from both Canterbury East and Canterbury West railway stations.

The cost for the day will be £20.00 per person including refreshments and a buffet lunch (vegetarian dishes included). Please enclose a cheque payable to the Kent Field Club with the completed reply slip and return by Friday 10th October 2014 to: Hon. Membership Secretary, 2 West End Cottages, the Street, Doddington, Sittingbourne, Kent.

Download the conference programme and booking form.

Trundle and High Woods for fungi and general records. 

Meet at TQ894587, parking at Bottom Pond farm. 

Leader:  Alec Henricki

King's Wood, Challock for fungi and general interest.

Meet at TR023499 in public car park. 

Leader: Mario Tortelli.

Joint meeting with KMG.  North Kent Marshes sites that were part of the Kent Wildlife Trust's 'Water for Wildlife' project.  We will collect all records and hope to find signs of water voles and harvest mice.

Meet at TR007632, Pheasant Barn, Church Road, Oare, ME13 0QB,  there is plenty of parking on Church Road.

Leader:  Chloe Sadler

Sherwood Lake & Gregg's wood, Tunbridge Wells.  Fungi and general records needed by Kent High Weald Countryside Partnership.

Meet at TQ601409, in courtyard outside TN2 Community Centre, Lakeside, off Greggs Wood road. Parking is along the road. 

Leader:  Martin Allison.

Hosey Common for fungi. 

Meet at TQ452530, Hosey Common car park. 

Leader: Trudy Flemming.

Lullingstone Park for Ascomycetes and plant galls. 

Meet in golf course car park at TQ506646. 

Leader:  Brian Spooner.

Wey Street, Romney marsh for ditch flora and general interest. 

Meet at TR019315, parking in yard at Bainbridge Farm, Wey Street, Snave, TN26 2QH.  

Leader:  Eleanor Body.

Broadham Down KWT reserve, restored chalk grassland and woodland for general interest.

Meet at TR103539, Mystole Road by footpath sign, leave time for limited parking by roadside.

Leader:  John Puckett.

Joint meeting with Shoresearch to Abbot's Cliff.  A shore survey among the big boulders from an old chalk cliff fall. 

N.B. This involves quite a long walk.  

Meet at 9.30 am at TR294391, in Samphire Hoe pay and display car park.

Leader:  Fiona White. Email and request to be added to the Shoresearch email circulation list to receive updates of this and other Shoresearch meetings.

Isle of Harty on Isle of Sheppy for shield bugs and general interest.

Meet at TR023682, the Capel Fleet Raptor view point in Harty Ferry Road.

Leader: Jonathan Barnard

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.