Kent Wildlife Conference 2012 - Kent's Heathlands

Kent's Heathlands: four decades of change

Saturday 20th October 2012

University of Greenwich, Medway Campus, Chatham Maritime ME4 4TB.

In 1974, Kent Field Club held a symposium on the then Hothfield Local Nature Reserve. This dealt with the site's history, geology, soils, biology and conservation management, and resulted in a series of papers which formed Volume 5, part 3 of the Transactions of the Kent Field Club, published in 1975. Since this time, a huge amount of conservation work has been carried out at Hothfield, and the site much expanded as Hothfield Heathlands. What has happened at Hothfield has also happened in other parts of Kent, with heathland restoration and recreation at Pembury, in the Blean, at Dartford and elsewhere. Whether or not this reflects a change in our thinking about heathland, it undoubtedly results from the increased ability of conservation bodies to undertake habitat management at ever larger scales, and as well as a much wider recognition by society that action for nature conservation is important. This conference will examine not just Hothfield, but other important heathland sites in Kent, presenting papers on the current extent of the county's heathland, heathland biodiversity, and current management of key sites.

The full prgramme and booking form are available here