Elmley Nature Reserve

Forty miles from London, on the Isle of Sheppey, lies one of the UK’s only family owned and managed National Nature Reserves: Elmley Nature Reserve. This low-lying sanctuary of marshes and big skies is home to the largest lowland collection of breeding waders in the country. 📢 After becoming a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) in the early 1980s, farmers and passionate conservationists – Philip and Corinne Merricks – decided to designate a radical 95% of the holding for conservation. When their daughter, Georgina Fulton, took on the Estate with her husband, Gareth, they identified an opportunity to create a responsibly managed area for nature tourism to benefit people and nature alike. Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gMqt7fjP #nationalnaturereserve #naturetourism #biodiversity #nature #SSSI

Step away from the office and discover the power of nature to inspire creativity and collaboration with your team.   Elmley offers a unique setting for corporate retreats, with abundant wildlife and beautiful landscapes. Enjoy inspiring team activities including our immersive wildlife tours. These guided tours allow your team to unwind and engage, whilst taking in the incredible wildlife and sweeping views.   Whether you’re exploring the Reserve or quietly taking in the peaceful surroundings, our nature-inspired approach encourages creativity, collaboration and innovation in a way that no boardroom can.   Refocus your team in a setting that allows ideas and creativity to flourish. Get in touch with our events team to discuss your bespoke corporate retreat – events@elmleynaturereserve.co.uk #corporateretreats #corporateevents #sustainablevenue

Some wonderful wildlife news 🦉 Elmley has welcomed two broods of Short-eared Owls! This wonderful video is of a fledged owl spotted back in June, where 4 fledged chicks were seen. It was on a dusk tour in June that we first confirmed there were young owls. It is very unusual for this species to breed as far south as Kent, usually breeding in the far North of England and Scotland. We were lucky to have a high number wintering on the Reserve, and with the cooler weather earlier in the summer, combined with plentiful supply of voles, as well as predator control, this has created a welcoming environment for breeding. Short-eared Owls are amber-listed birds of Conservation Concern, so it really is special to have these breeding pairs stay at Elmley, and we hope they will remain on the Reserve into the autumn too. #elmleynaturereserve #shortearedowls #corporateretreats

Exciting Curlew update 💚 The first of this year's Curlew from the Elmley Curlew Recovery Project have been released! We are so pleased to share that 17 of the 26 Curlew have been released into the wild so far. 5 of them have had GPS tags fitted, almost like a backpack, which will give daily location updates. The birds have yellow leg flags and we would love for our visitors to keep an eye out and report any sightings to info@elmleynaturereserve.co.uk - sightings help us to track survival of the reared birds in the wild, and develop a map of their preferred feeding and roosting areas across the Swale. Last year's birds are still actively transmitting, which has shown they've stayed on or near Elmley Nature Reserve for a year now. We are very much hoping to see the same from this year's Curlew. Simon (pictured) has done the most incredible job rearing this year's batch of eggs into healthy, thriving fledged birds. A big thank you to him and also to Fiona, Ian and Simon G for their wonderful help too. If you would like to support, we welcome donations to go towards the Elmley Curlew Recovery Project - https://lnkd.in/e5pU4raY #elmleynaturereserve #curlew #curlewrecoveryproject #naturerestoration

It was great to welcome the team from Regency Grove for their two-day retreat, celebrating their 5th anniversary 🌿 If you're looking for a unique venue for your corporate event/retreat, get in touch with the team via events@elmleynaturereserve.co.uk

We recently welcomed the team from EMC3 for their corporate event, where the focus was on unwinding and spending time as a team with some fun activities, including yoga, tree planting and a very entertaining 90s themed party. Thank you for choosing Elmley, we had a wonderful time hosting you🌿 Thank you to EMC3 for their lovely feedback: "We recently hosted our corporate event at Elmley Nature Reserve, and we couldn't be more pleased with the experience. The property is absolutely beautiful and ideal for both corporate and private events. The range of rooms and spaces available is brilliant, and the convenient access from London makes it an excellent choice. From start to finish, the support and preparation from the team at Elmley were outstanding. The venue truly stands out with its variety of options and exceptional service. They offer a wide range of food service options, such as BBQs, pizzas, and sit-down dinners. These options are a great asset. The overall experience was fantastic. We are grateful for the amazing work and dedication that went into making our event a success. We highly recommend Elmley for any corporate or private event. Thank you once again to the entire team!" Experience this unique setting for yourself and let your team break out in nature at Elmley Nature Reserve. Speak to the team to discuss your next corporate event – events@elmleynaturereserve.co.uk #corporateeventvenue #corporateretreats #corporateevents #teamawaydays

emc3 connect 2024 🌿 (But take it back to the 90’s 🕺🪩) for nearly an entire week of jam packed activities to connect ❤️ Last week we.. 🚀 Listened to the incredible story of how emc3 was born 25 years ago and how it grew to become the company it is today 🍋 Learned a lot about ourselves both as individuals but also an agency from our keynote speaker, Mike Ford at GratefulLemon 🍝 Spent an evening making gnocchi with the wonderful Pasta Evangelists 🐉 Teamed up to go pitch to our very own dragons in a dragons den style workshop where we looked at innovative solutions to help support the events sector 🌿 Planted tree’s at the wonderful Elmley Nature Reserve 🕺 Celebrated the incredible company that is emc3 Going into this week feeling incredible grateful to be a part of this journey and working with some of the most genuine, outgoing, hardworking humans out there ❤️ #emc3 #CompanyConnect

🌟 Celebrating a Milestone: 25 Years of emc3 with CONN3CT 2024! 🌟 This year marks a significant achievement for Alistair Graham and Daniel Curtis as emc3 | Certified B Corporation celebrates its 25th anniversary. 🎉 Our recent CONN3CT event was fabulous, bringing our global team together in London for an incredible week of content and relaxation. For a remote company like emc3 | Certified B Corporation, these internal events are vital as they allow the whole team to come together, fostering community and collaboration between all departments. We had fantastic speaker sessions from the leadership team, and an informative keynote from Mike Ford of GratefulLemon focusing on reducing 'burnout'. The next day followed with plenty of teamwork sessions during our Dragon’s Den activity and workshops. We then headed over to the incredible Elmley Nature Reserve, where the focus was on unwinding, relaxing, and having chilled-out time with the team through activities like rounders, yoga, tree planting, and our 90’s themed celebration party. 🧘♀️ 🌳 🕺 Bringing everyone together in person is not just about the work; it's about building relationships, sharing experiences, and creating memories that strengthen our remote working culture. 👥 It’s an exciting time for us at emc3, and we’re looking forward to many more years of success and innovation! P.S. Thank you to everyone who helped make CONN3CT 2024 happen! 💚 #emc3 #25Years #Teamwork #Innovation #Celebration #CONN3CT #Wellbeing #Performance #CreativeDesign #RemoteWork #TeamBuilding

I just got back from our (emc3 | Certified B Corporation's) annual offsite #CONN3CT, where the global team headed over to our London HQ. We got to enjoy a fantastic keynote from Mike Ford from GratefulLemon on How to Build a Foundation for Personal and Collective Wellbeing and Performance. This was super impactful for me and I felt very reassured that over the last year I've really formed some great habits and got myself into a good routine, although there's always room for improvement! We had our very own Dragon’s Den activity, which got all the creative juices flowing, and workshops from Dax Callner, Josh King, and Henry Sage from White Light, covering topics such as Measurement and Impact, How to Sell Effectively, and Creative Production Design. We had a blast with Pasta Evangelists learning how to make gnocchi from scratch, along with team dinners and theatre trips, before heading over to the stunning Elmley Nature Reserve. Then of course there was the 90’s themed celebration party 😎 I learnt a lot about myself and my colleagues, whose authenticity and kindness makes them all such a pleasure to work with! How many team leaders do you know who will walk back to their tent in the dark to fetch a hot water bottle for your sore back? Or team members you've just met for the first time in real life who will unashamedly sing show tunes with you on the tube like you've known each other for years? The kindest, best bunch of humans out there. The only downside is I don’t get to see them all more often! I feel so incredibly lucky to work for a company that provides these get-togethers and opportunities for learning and growth 💞 #EventProfs #CompanyCulture

A huge thank you to our wonderful events team, delivering exceptional service. It’s been a busy summer so far and it’s lovely to receive this amazing feedback from a recent corporate event. “For senior partners of a large firm, leadership development experiences have to be as restful and energising as they are inspiring and challenging - so much of which is down to location. Elmley provided us with an outstanding environment that really catered for all our personal and learning needs.    Aside from the incredible views and the feeling of being fully away from city life, it’s the care and attention to detail that makes Elmley so perfect for a retreat. Participants said it felt like we’d been invited to someone’s wonderful home. From living rooms with squishy armchairs, to dining tables overlooking the conservation, we found we had a perfect spot for all the varied parts of the work. We hosted plenary discussions around the kitchen table, circle-ups on the lawn, active workshops in Swales studios, intimate breakout coaching sessions in homely social spaces, workshops on the beach, celebratory large group dinners in the cottage, sundowners in the bird hide. Participants were served coffee and pastries in bed so they could journal in their pyjamas to the dawn chorus before gathering for group breakfast. We toasted marshmallows and told fireside stories, planted trees and took insightful lessons from the brave risks Elmley has taken to do the right thing and remain relevant and sustainable. All of this was enabled by the unwavering commitment of all staff, to deliver excellence and to nurture us as guests.    I had no doubt it would feel like this, from the competence shown in every meeting prior delivery week and the shared excitement for the work. It was all simply brilliant.”   - Partner Development Lead, Big Four Professional Services Firm   Experience this unique place for yourself and let your team break out in nature at Elmley Nature Reserve. Speak to the team to discuss your next corporate event – events@elmleynaturereserve.co.uk