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Wildlife Trust Ecology Groups Wildlife Trust Ecology Groups Survey Programme 2019 Welcome to the 2019 Ecology Groups programme, as you will see Ecology Groups are growing into new areas of the county and there are more surveys to get involved with. Our Ecology Groups have been established to help us demonstrate the effect of our reserve management work and to assess the quality of the habitats we manage. Ecology Groups are part of a team within our Conservation & Policy Department and you’ll be in the field surveying and collecting data on species and habitats. You’ll learn a huge amount through this work, gaining skills to identify species, provide valuable data and see it used to benefit wildlife conservation in Kent. You’ll have the opportunity to learn from experienced staff and volunteers who will help to develop your survey and identification skills. All you need is an interest in wildlife, you don’t need a background or any prior knowledge, but you’ll likely want to grow your skills and help us to make a difference for wildlife. Volunteering with Ecology Groups a great role for students and those wishing to gain experience in the conservation sector as well as anyone wanting to learn more about species and habitats. If you are building your CV, in order to gain the most of this opportunity, we would recommend volunteers participating in both surveying role and our Ecology Group data processing role (for more details contact [email protected]). We also encourage our Ecology Group volunteers to participate in our Wildlife Study Day programme of activities, there is a charge for these, but a discount is offered on many of these for active volunteers. Volunteers will also benefit from getting involved with our Practical Conservation task days. Important Surveys are run by different members of staff and volunteers on different reserves and in different parts of the county. You MUST contact the relevant person using the email address listed to let them know you intend to come to a session to make sure that: a) You know the meeting place and time for the survey b) You can be contacted in the event that the survey is cancelled due to bad weather or staff illness Typically surveys are from 10am until 4pm (sometimes we may finish earlier), though this may vary slightly. Usually volunteers attend for the whole day, but you are welcome to come for a half day. How much time do I need to give? Our Ecology Groups work primarily between spring and late summer, and volunteers usually commit to participating in a day long activity with us, usually starting from around 9 or 10am and finishing at 4pm. You can attend as many sessions as you would like. What do I need to bring with me? It’s essential that you wear weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy, sensible footwear. You should bring your lunch and a drink with you. Not all of our sites are fully accessible and you will often be working on uneven ground, please check the accessibility details of the site you are visiting on our website. What will I be doing? The last page of this programme details what is involved in each type of survey. Where will activities take place? Activities are taking place all over Kent, full details of which are listed in this programme. If you have any questions about Ecology Groups please contact: Lucy Carden | Assistant Conservation Officer Mobile: 07740 182877 E-mail: [email protected] Kent Wildlife Trust, Tyland Barn, Sandling Lane, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 3BD Website: http://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/wildlife/ecology-groups Facebook: search ‘Kent Wildlife Trust Ecology Groups’ Survey Survey days Reserves (days) Dates Contact email Water vole Monday Holborough 1st May Nigel [email protected] survey Marshes Jennings k Plant survey Tuesdays Potters Copse (1) 7th May Lucy Carden [email protected] (habitat condition assessment – Potters Copse (2) 14th May woodland) Plant survey RESERVES (habitat th condition Thursday Princes Bank 30 May Alison Ruyter [email protected] th assessment – Darland Banks (1) 13 June th chalk grassland) Darland Banks (2) 20 June Thursdays Darland Banks (3) 4th July Monday The Larches 3rd June Friday Nashenden 7th June TBC Bluebell Hill TBC Burham TBC – Steve Weeks [email protected] Wouldham Contact the Mondays organiser for further Peters Pit details Queendown Warren TBC – Rob [email protected] Tuesdays Contact the Pennington organiser for Queendown further Extension details ROADSIDE NATURE RESERVES (Maidstone area) Thursdays Princes Ave and 23rd May Bethany [email protected] North Dane Way Pateman Detling Hill and 30th May A2490 Bluebell Hill 20th June Orchid survey Thursdays Darland Banks 25th April Alison Ruyter [email protected] 2nd May 9th May Moths - day Darland Banks Contact Heather [email protected] flying moth TBC organiser for Furse survey (straw further belle) details Plant survey (habitat Monday Kemsing Down (1) 13th May Lucy Carden [email protected] condition assessment – woodland) Plant survey (habitat ROADSIDE NATURE RESERVES condition assessment – Thursday Hartley 6th June Beth [email protected] chalk grassland) Pateman RESERVES Monday Magpie Bottom (1) 3rd June Susanna [email protected] Magpie Bottom (2) 10th June Clerici Tuesday Magpie Bottom (3) 11th June Monday Magpie Bottom (4) 17th June Magpie Bottom (5) 24th June Magpie Bottom (6) 1st July Friday Fackenden (1) 7th June Paul [email protected] Monday Fackenden (2) 17th June Glanfield Wednesday Fackenden (3) 3rd July Monday Fackenden (4) 8th July TBC Fackenden (5) TBC Monday Polhill Bank (1) 10th June Friday Polhill Bank (2) 21st June Friday Kemsing Down (1) 14th June Monday Kemsing Down (2) 24th June Plant survey (habitat Thursdays Quarry wood (1) 9th May Lucy Carden [email protected] condition assessment – Quarry wood (2) 16th May woodland) Plant survey (habitat Tuesdays Marden Meadow 4th June Matt Hayes [email protected] condition assessment – (1) neutral grassland) Marden Meadow 11th June (2) Marden Meadow 18th June (3) Coronation 25th June Meadows (1) Coronation 2nd June Meadows (2) Coronation 9th June Meadows (3) The Gill TBC Plant survey (habitat Fridays South Blean (1) 7th June Lucy Carden [email protected] condition assessment – South Blean (2) 14th June woodland/acid South Blean (3) 21st June grassland) South Blean (4) 28th June South Blean (5) 5th July South Blean (6) 12th July Bigbury Camp (7) 19th July TBC Plant survey (habitat condition assessment – RESERVES chalk grassland) Thursdays Old Park Hill (1) 6th June Lucy [email protected] Old Park Hill (2) 13th June Carden Old Park Hill (3) 20th June Old Park Hill (4) 27th June Nemo Down (1) 4th July Nemo Down (2) 11th July Nemo Down (3) 18th July Wednesday Park Gate Down (1) 12th June ROADSIDE NATURE RESERVES Tuesday’s Lydden Hill 21st May Beth [email protected] Whitfield Hill 11th June Pateman Coldred Hill 18th June Wart-Biter Bush Cricket Thursdays Lydden Temple 8th August Lucy [email protected] survey day Ewell 29th August Carden Plant survey (habitat Wednesdays Stone Wood, 8th May Lucy Carden [email protected] condition assessment – Shadoxhurst (1) woodland) Stone Wood, 15th May Shadoxhurst (2) Plant survey (habitat Thursdays Hothfield – 6th June Ian Rickards [email protected] condition assessment – Heathland (1) heathland) Hothfield – 13th June Heathland (2) Hothfield – 20th June Heathland (3) Hothfield – 27th June Heathland (4) Hothfield – 4th July Heathland (5) Hothfield – 11th July Heathland (6) Hothfield – 18th July Heathland (7) Hothfield – 25th July Heathland (8) Plant survey (habitat Mondays Sandwich Bay (1) 10th June Lucy Carden [email protected] condition assessment – Sandwich Bay (2) 17th June coastal, fen, wet Sandwich Bay (3) 24th June grassland) Sandwich Bay (4 ) 1 st July Sandwich Bay (5) 8th July Ham Fen (1) 15th July Ham Fen (2) 22nd July Ham Fen (3) 29th July Ham Fen (4) 5th August Ham Fen (5) 12th August Plant survey (habitat Tuesday Bough Beech (1) 25th June Gareth [email protected] condition assessment – Saturday Bough Beech (2) 29th June Cristian neutral grassland) Tuesday Bough Beech (3) 2nd July Plant survey (habitat Tuesdays Spuckles Wood (1) 23rd April Lucy Carden [email protected] condition assessment – th woodland) Spuckles Wood (2) 30 April Monitoring/training Location Date Time Contact Email type Bumblebee field Faversham Road, 11/04/2019 14:00 – 16:00 Rosie Earwaker [email protected] practise day near Seasalter (weather Shellness Road, 26/04/2019 14:00 – 16:00 dependent) Leysdown-on-sea Tyland Barn 02/05/2019 14:00 – 16:00 Marine Parade, 10/05/2019 10:00 – 12:00 Sheerness Faversham Road, 16/05/2019 14:00 – 16:00 near Seasalter Bee Road plant Shellness Road, 24/05/2019 10:00 – 16:00 monitoring Leysdown-on-sea Shellness Road, 30/0/2019 10:00 – 16:00 leysdown-on-sea Swale Way, Murston 31/05/2019 10:00 - 16:00 Swale Way, Muston 06/06/2019 10:00 – 16:00 Faversham Road, 07/06/2019 10:00 – 16:00 near Seasalter Marine Parade, 21/06/2019 10:00 – 16:00 Sheerness Marine Parade, 27/06/2019 10:00 – 16:00 Sheerness Fiery Clearwing Faversham Road, 28/06/2019 10:00 – 15:00 survey (am) & near Seasalter bumblebee field practise (pm) Bee Road plant Shellness Road, 04/07/2019 10:00 – 16:00 monitoring Leysdown-on-sea Swale Way,
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