Making Space for Nature in Kent and Medway

What a year it has been for us at Making Space for Nature...19 workshops, 9 online briefings, farm walks, conference presentations, 12 newsletters, ploughing matches, podcast appearances, hundreds of social media posts, thousands of emails, more Technical Advisory group meetings than we can count…even an art exhibition! It’s safe to say that when we asked for the people of Kent to engage with the development of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, they got well and truly stuck in! We want to wholeheartedly thank you for all your hard work this year, and for giving us all the information and feedback we need to put together a really meaningful Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Kent and Medway. You gave us your local knowledge, your expertise, you showed us where we had got things wrong and how we could do things better, and you challenged us to think about how we could make sure the strategy could actually make a difference for our biodiversity. But more than anything, you encouraged us that we were on the right track, and to keep up the hard work. And whilst your part is done for now, the hard work continues for us, as we have now started drafting the strategy itself. Please forgive us if we are quiet for a while as we tackle this mammoth task! But stay tuned, because we are due to go to public consultation in mid-January, at which point we will suddenly become very noisy again! Because it’s then that you will be able to view the draft strategy in full, and have one final opportunity to comment on it before it heads for publication. #MS4N #LNRS #KentLNRS #Naturerecovery

When we think about nature recovery, it's hard not to think about the pressures and challenges that our biodiversity faces. Whilst we can't ignore these, we can celebrate the positives where we find them - we know, for example, that there's lots of great action already happening in the county, that the LNRS can build on. Recently, we spent the day with Kent Plan Tree, who are leading the tree planting strategy for the county. So far, they have got thousands on trees in the ground, and have plans for many thousands more! We made this short film to give you a glimpse of what they get up to. Anna Ritchie #LNRS #KentLNRS #KentPlanTree #naturerecovery

It was standing room only at our last ever workshop for the Kent and Medway Local Nature Recovery Strategy yesterday. But it's perhaps not surprising that it was our busiest workshop to date, considering we were discussing our shortlist of Priority Species. This workshop has been a long time in the making, as our Species Technical Advisory Group have been working behind the scenes for months, meticulously putting the shortlist of species together, and everyone was very keen to see what was on it! We were also incredibly lucky that many of our species experts were on hand at the workshop yesterday, to explain the process of selection and discuss their specialist subject areas - how fortunate we are in Kent, to have so many wonderfully knowledgeable biodiversity experts who are also so generous with their time and skills. Thanks, as always, to everyone who came along, it was a brilliant morning, and a fitting final effort to what has been a very successful LNRS development period! So what happens now? Well, the Making Space for Nature team will be hunkering down to begin drafting the strategy itself now, using all the brilliant work that you've helped us with over the last year. We are due to go to Public Consultation in January, so if you haven't already, we strongly encourage you to sign up for the newsletter for stay up-to-date for news on this, and more: https://lnkd.in/efXsJw-U #MS4N #LNRS #KentLNRS #naturerecovery

CALLING ALL FARMERS, GROWERS AND LANDOWNERS! Our final Pint and a Map session is taking place on Monday 30th Sept, in Tenterden - come along and have a look at our first LNRS maps, and have a chat with us about the Local Nature Recovery Strategy. Book your spot at https://lnkd.in/exyVeEiJ #kentlnrs #lnrs #ms4n

It really feels to us at Making Space for Nature like we have almost scaled the Local Nature Recovery Strategy mountain...So much work has gone into where we are now, not just from us, but from the hundreds of stakeholders from all over the county that have joined us in the work - we are all passionate about doing everything we can to support our biodiversity, and help it to flourish across the county. That's why in this last push, we are still throwing everything we can at reaching as many people as we can - letting them know about the Local Nature Recovery Strategy, and how they can get involved. Here's a few ways over the next week that you can: If you're a farmer or landowner, you can join us at the Horseshoe and Castle pub in Cooling on Monday 23rd Sept, for a pint and a look at our first LNRS maps. If you're attending the Weald of Kent Ploughing match this Saturday, come and find us at our Making Space for Nature stall - we'll have our MS4N artworks for you to take a close look at , as well as our LNRS draft maps and some fun art activities for kids! And next week we have our final 2 mapping workshops, in Rainham and East Malling - these are open to absolutely anyone with an interest in how we are mapping our nature recovery plans for Kent and Medway, and we even throw in a free lunch to thank you for all your hard work. To book tickets, head to https://lnkd.in/exyVeEiJ #LNRS #KentLNRS #MS4N #naturerecovery

A great kick-off to our Mapping Workshops in Folkestone yesterday. Thanks to everyone who came along - your comments and thoughts on the draft maps for the county were, as ever, insightful, well-considered, and extremely useful to us! And don't our artworks look fantastic?? If you would like to join our next Local Nature Recovery Strategy Mapping Workshop, we will be in Birchington next Tuesday (17th) at Quex Barn - it's not too late to sign up! Head to https://lnkd.in/exyVeEiJ to book your place. #MS4N #LNRS #kentLNRS #naturerecovery

THIS THURSDAY! Our Mapping Workshops get underway in Folkestone, and it's not too late to book on! At the workshops, you'll be helping us to review and finalise the Draft Maps that we have established for our Local Nature Recovery Strategy - come and see what we've created so far, and have your say! Head to https://lnkd.in/exyVeEiJ to book your place! #LNRS #KentLNRS #naturerecovery #MS4N

So far, the bulk of the work you have helped us with has been habitat-focused. That's because behind the scenes, our Species Technical Advisory Group, made up of species experts and recording groups from around the county, has been busy working away to establish our list of priority species for nature recovery. We are almost ready to share that draft list, and we want to work with you to finalise it - That's why we are hosting a one-off workshop for our Priority Species work, on the 1st October, at Marden Cricket Club. You can book tickets and see the full programme for the day at https://lnkd.in/eJRh6qSb #lnrs #kentlnrs #naturerecovery #ms4n

Last weekend, we were at Romney Marsh Ploughing Match, chatting to farmers about the Local Nature Recovery Strategy - Alexa, our landowner officer even got a meet and greet with Alfie and Arthur the Shire Horses! And a huge thanks to Produced in Kent for the hampers of fantastic Kent food and drink! We will be having a stall at the next 2 Ploughing Matches: the Weald of Kent on the 21st September, and the East of Kent on the 25th September - come and say hello, and get yourself a raffle ticket for a chance to win one of our hampers if you are planning to be there! #MS4N #LNRS #kentLNRS #naturerecovery

Only 10 days until our final series of workshops developing the Local Nature Recovery Strategy for Kent and Medway begins! In this last series, we will be working together to create our LNRS map - deciding where nature recovery action is focused. This is the last piece of the puzzle for our Local Nature Recovery Strategy, that brings together all the work up to this point. It's not too late to book your place, but do be quick - we are close to selling out spaces on some of the dates. Please share widely around your networks - it's really important that as many people as possible have their chance to get involved with this crucial stage of the LNRS development! Book your place at https://lnkd.in/exyVeEiJ #LNRS #kentLNRS #naturerecovery #MS4N