For many years, Kent Wildlife Trust has run a Wild About Gardens advice and awards scheme to support and recognise individuals, groups and organisations in maximising the value of their gardens for wild species. Needless to say, for those fortunate enough to have access to them, gardens represent a great opportunity for biological recording and long-term monitoring especially under COVID restrictions.

Below is information regarding this year's activities from the coordinator, Maureen Rainey:

Nature is in trouble. We are suffering loss of biodiversity at an alarming rate, in particular insects. But it is not too late. We can all do something to reverse the trend and these actions, however small, will add up to a huge difference. After all, there are 22 million gardens in the UK and together they cover an area greater than nature reserves.

I work with an award-winning team of volunteers at Kent Wildlife Trust who are eager to encourage people to make their gardens and local green spaces more nature friendly. In 2020 because of Covid 19, we were unable to visit gardens in person, so the volunteers have been giving wildlife friendly gardening advice using digital means.

We noticed similar questions occur on regular basis and, rather than just issuing a standard list of “frequently asked questions”, we have planned a series of short, friendly workshops. These will initially be via Zoom. Each session will be restricted to a maximum of 15 people to give all participants the opportunity to ask questions and take part in discussions.  If the sessions are oversubscribed, we will hold a waiting list for repeat sessions, so no one is turned away. It is hoped that, as the year progresses, we will be able to run live sessions from various venues.

The dates for the Zoom sessions are:

23 Jan 2021: Dealing with perceived pests in a wilder garden: https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/events/2021-01-23-dealing-perceived-pests-wilder-garden-online-course

28 Jan 2021 : Pollinator friendly gardening: https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/events/2021-01-28-pollinator-friendly-gardening-online-course

20 Feb 2021: Building & maintaining a garden wildlife pond: https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/events/2021-02-20-building-and-maintaining-garden-wildlife-pond-online-course-pm

20 March 2021: Wilder lawns: https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/events/2021-03-20-wilder-lawns-online-course

OPEN GARDENS

We are excited to announce that later in the year some of our volunteers will be opening their gardens and giving practical tips on how to make all types of garden nature friendly. Each event will be focussed on one or two specific topics, such as ponds or wilder lawns, and experienced volunteers will be on hand to deal with questions. The relevant Covid 19 restrictions will be adhered to at each site. Booking will be essential and timed tickets can be obtained via Kent Wildlife Trust’s website from January onwards.

Sat 24 April: Wateringbury garden focussing on ponds, nature friendly vegetable gardening and hedgehog habitats

Sat 16 May: Doddington garden focussing on insects and birds

Sat 5 June: Edenbridge garden focussing on wilder lawns

Sat 26 June: Gravesend garden focussing on pollinators and ponds

Sat 18 July: A repeat of the Doddington garden showing seasonal differences and focussing on insects and birds

If you would like any more information, you can get in touch with me by email:  or by phoning 07500111717

Total monthly rainfall: 68.5 millimetres. Maximum daily rainfall: 24 millimetres on 15^th November.

Altogether there were 15 days when measurable rain fell, and 21 days with 100% cloud-cover for at least part of the day. There were strong winds on the 1^st, 2^nd, 14^th, and 15^th.

Maximum temperature on the warmest days was 16°C on the 1^st,7^th, and 9^th. Maximum temperature on the coldest days was 8°C on the 5th and 30^th.

Total monthly rainfall: 156.5 milimetres. Maximum daily rainfall: 31.5 millimetres on 3^rd October.

Altogether there were 24 days when measurable rain fell, and 19 days with 100% cloud-cover for at least part of the day.

Maximum temperature on the warmest day was 17°C on October 8^th, and on the coldest days was 11°C on the 25^th and 28th. There were strong winds throughout the month on October 3^rd, 4^th, 8^th, 20^th, 21^st, 24th, 27^th, and 31^st.

Total monthly rainfall: 27 millimetres. Maximum daily rainfall: 12.5 millimetres on 25^th September.

The nine days between September 23^rd and 30^th had 100% cloud-cover for at least part of the day, plus a further two days on the 3^rd and 7^th.

Maximum temperature on the warmest day was 29°C on September 15^th, and on the coldest days was 12°C on the 26^th and 27^th.

Strong winds between the 24^th and 27^th brought down one large goat willow tree and many leaves and small branches.

Total monthly rainfall: 71.2 millimetres. Maximum daily rainfall: 26 mllimetres (17^th August). During the month there were 11 days with 100% cloud-cover for at least part of the day, and from 11^th August onwards there were 13 days when rain fell. Woodland pond levels, however, remained very low throughout the month. Maximum temperature on the hottest day was 35°C on August 7^th, and the six days between the 7^th and 12^th had temperatures at or above 32°C. Maximum temperature on the coldest day was 16°C on August 29^th during a spell of 5 days when the maximum temperature fell below 20°C.