Bus Company Island is a little known ‘green oasis’ hidden away behind The Causeway in Canterbury. The site was bought by Canterbury City Council in 1994 from the bus company and designated a LNR. The site is small, just 1.7ha, but is a vital wildlife refuge in such a built up area. So secluded is the site that it was chosen when several slow worms were relocated from a nearby area which was developed. The reserve is not open to the public and has become a little overgrown recently, particularly around its small pond. For this reason the KSCP volunteers descended on a sleety November day to give the site a face-lift. With help from staff and volunteers of the Canterbury Environmental Education Centre, a group of 17 set about coppicing scrub, clearing pathways and improving safety on a very slippery dipping platform. A few sore thumbs later, the chicken wire was firmly in place!

Wet woodland, not wet socks!

English Nature has called in KSCP volunteers to undertake this year's management of their alder and willow woodland adjacent to the nature trail at Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve. The site is one of English Nature’s ‘Spotlight’ reserves and best known for its sweeping reed-beds rather than its woodlands. Once complete, 0.25ha of woodland will have been coppiced. Over time, the trees will regenerate from the cut stumps, but before the canopy closes over once more, the woodland floor will come alive with an array of wild flowers. However, time is against us as winter water levels are rising and the woodland will flood soon!

After more than a year and a half, the final staple has been ‘driven home’ on the fencing work undertaken by volunteers at the Weatherlees Hill SSSI near Pegwell Bay. Although less than a kilometre in length, the work involved not only the removal of the old fence line but also the back-breaking task of cutting our way through both reed-bed and hawthorn thicket. So, you can imagine the collective sigh as the fencing was completed and I think that included the cows too!

Volunteering at Canterbury Environmental Education Centre

The centre offers a wide range of opportunities to volunteers interested in wildlife surveying, conservation and environmental education. The 12ha site near Canterbury has wetland, woodland and grassland habitats that need continual management and access improvements. The CUBS project, a community wildlife survey, is also run from the centre. It provides free training and wildlife surveying opportunities at a variety of wildlife sites around Canterbury. Likewise if you’re interested in gaining experience working with visiting schools doing environmental activities we can help too. Please contact Alex Ewing, Conservation & Community Officer, CEEC, tel. 01227 452447 or email alexewing100@yahoo.co.uk for more information.

Local artists Will Glanfield and Julian Coode are responsible for creating an impressive sculptural bike rack near the start of the Crab & Winkle Way at the Goods Shed in Canterbury. The piece is made from oak, and railway line that once sat next to the Goods Shed. Both artists come from Whitstable. Commissioned by the KSCP it is the 9^th piece of art that the Project has installed along the Crab and Winkle Way since launching the route in 1999. Funding came mainly from the Brett Environment Trust but Sustrans, through a private donor, and Canterbury City Council also made significant contributions. Jon Shelton, Manager of the KSCP says ' I think we have got a bit more sculpture than bike rack, but it certainly looks very impressive. The artists have done a great job'.

Twelve members of the French group Les Blongios (the Little Bitterns) turned up to help out at Stodmarsh National Nature Reserve over a weekend in December. Combined with about 20 English volunteers the cross channel working party got stuck into removing invasive willow on the reedbeds. The BBC even came out to film the cutting and burning and everyone getting on together! The French volunteers demonstrated they were no slouches when it came to hard work and seemed to enjoy 'destructive conservation' as much as the English! The project was part of an ongoing partnership between the KSCP and the French partly funded through the Inter-Regional Development Fund (Interreg). It's our turn to cross the channel next so anyone interested in volunteering on a French Reserve should contact the KSCP.

What’s under the bridge?

Bats! A public bat evening at Whitehall Meadows this summer revealed that at night, the road bridge where Rheims Way passes over the Stour was a key spot for Daubenton bats hunting insects! Despite not coming out until a little later than expected, with the help of Jill Tardivel from the Kent Bat Group and some trusty bat detectors, the group soon had an amazing display of aerobatic expertise!

Keeping up the good work

The second stage of an ongoing project to fence Jumping Downs LNR was carried out by KSCP volunteers this summer. 200m of stock fencing was erected between the site and the adjacent road to allow cattle to graze the area over the winter months. This helps to keep the site as open chalk grassland.

Come and visit the AONB!

The KSCP are embarking on two new projects this year to help encourage people to visit the Kent Downs AONB. The first, funded by the AONB Sustainable Development Fund, will work with local communities and pub owners to develop and print a set of circular walks from pubs, initially within the Canterbury part of the AONB. The second is to run a variety of different events, from walks and talks to survival techniques in the AONB for minority groups including young people and asylum seekers.

The KSCP have been working together with the MoD and Canterbury City Council (CCC) to combat the misuse of a valuable wildlife site just off the Sturry Road in Canterbury. Reed Pond, part of Old Park SSSI, provides not only a vital wildlife haven but also an excellent community resource. Sadly, it’s suffering from misuse by motorcyclists, vandals and people dropping litter. So local residents, KSCP volunteers, Kent Probation Service and soldiers from Howe Barracks joined forces with help from CCC, Serco and KCC Clean Kent Campaign to carry out a giant litter pick. This joint approach proved a massive success with 8 trolleys, 4 burnt motorbike frames, a mattress, a sofa and over 150 black bags of rubbish collected. This is part of an ongoing project to try and improve the area for both wildlife and local residents. So well done to everyone who came and joined in, and many thanks to Northgate Community Ward who kindly provided lunch for everyone on the day!