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The Blean Woodland Festival will be held in the beautiful grounds of Strode Park, near Canterbury, on Saturday 11th September. Strode Park Foundation is a charity that works with people with disabilities and they have extensive grounds with a wonderful outdoor amphitheatre. This free event is being organised by the Blean Initiative, a partnership of organisations, councils, charities, voluntary groups and landowners who work together to promote the Blean.

There will be something for all the family, for those who already know and love our local woodlands, for those who would like to find out more and for those who are simply looking for an interesting and exciting day out.

Attractions on the day include demonstrations such as chainsaw carving, pole lathing and spinning, along with Damien Goodburn, a woodworking archaeologist who has appeared on programs such as Time Team. There will be stalls for traditional woodland crafts and local produce, music and dancing, talks, guided walks and activities for children, as well as local food and drink.

There is ample parking and Strode Park is on the triangle 4 or 6 bus route. Dogs will not be allowed, except assistance dogs and the site & facilities are fully accessible. So why not come along for a fun day out!

Strode Park, Herne, near Canterbury, CT6 7NE. 10am – 4pm For more information: 01227 862015 or 372519; www.theblean.co.uk Kent Wildlife Trust contact: Kathryn Barton 07717 367944

Special points of

interest:

∗ Woody fun for all!

∗ The Blean Team

who’s who!

∗ Car park closure!

∗ A fond farewell!

∗ Lots of work to

keep us warm this

winter.

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) is probably the most easily recognisable of our British fungi and is the quintessential mushroom! Unmistakable in appearance, this large mushroom’s cap can grow to 20cm in diameter, often forming small clumps, in both coniferous and deciduous wood-lands throughout the autumn. Beware, though, this brightly coloured mushroom is toxic and was once known for its hallucinogenic properties. It is thought that eating fifteen of these mushrooms is enough to prove fatal to the average human, so look but do not touch! Wendy Murray—Canterbury Area Warden

KENT WILDLIFE TRUST

BLEAN PROJECT NEWSLETTER

ISSUE 3

AUTUMN 2010

The Blean Woodland Festival Celebrating the landscape, history and wildlife of the Blean

Fly agaric - John & Irene Palmer

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Mike Enfield Blean Project Manager:

Mike Enfield is the Blean Project Manager, leading the Blean Team in implementing plans for the four-year Blean Project. Born in Ashford, Mike came into conservation through an early interest in butterflies and moths and later through volunteering on nature reserves. He previously worked for the Trust in East Kent in the 80s, before working for the Corporation of London on its open spaces until 2006.

John Wilson Blean Biodiversity Warden:

Born in Edinburgh and raised in Fife, John left Scotland over twenty years ago to seek his fortune in Bournemouth! After a few years in the building industry he set off travelling before returning to education and a hopeful career change. John has been with Kent Wildlife Trust for nearly 12 years. John is part of a caring family, commit-ted to making our environment a richer and more vibrant place to live in. John lives in Herne Bay with his wife and four children and their dog Fletch.

Wendy Murray Canterbury Area Warden:

Wendy Murray is now the Canterbury Area Warden, after joining the Trust in April 2009 as the Broad Oak Project Officer. Wendy looks after Reserves such as Wraik Hill, Foxes Cross and Larkey Valley and East Blean Woods. Wendy’s previous experience includes managing SSSIs and LNRs, some of which were located on an island in the middle of the Bristol Channel.

Blean Project who’s who!

Dan Fagan Blean Assistant Warden: Since studying Ecology at University two years ago, Dan has been involved with the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trusts, working within varied roles and conservation projects. From a young age Dan was fanatical about our Brit-ish wildlife and their habitats so it’s a dream come true to now be involved with Kent

Wildlife Trust. Dan is now looking forward to starting as the Assistant Warden.

Martin Thomas Blean Trainee Warden:

Martin live in Ramsgate with his wife Emma and their two cats. Martin got married in July this year. Before starting as a Trainee Warden on the Blean project he was vol-unteering weekly at the Sandwich and Pegwell Bay Reserves. Martin is currently in his final year, studying countryside management at Hadlow college. This will be a very busy year but a chance to learn and to gain experience on the Blean project.

Kathryn Barton Blean Community Engagement Officer:

Kathryn Barton is the Blean Community Engagement Officer and has been with the Trust since June 2009. Kathryn’s role involves education, community involvement, working with volunteers, heritage projects and organising events. Kathryn has a great deal of experience of the voluntary sector and community work through previous roles running a community allotment project, working on a project supporting young volunteers and many years of being a volunteer.

Lucy Smith Trainee Community Warden:

Lucy started her placement with Kent Wildlife Trust a week after she finished her de-gree in conservation. Lucy lives in a village outside of Sandwich, surrounded by agri-cultural land. Walking around her local area has inspired an interest in wildlife and a love for our beautiful landscapes. Lucy’s role with the Blean project is to work with community groups, schools, colleges and universities and educate and enthuse oth-ers about the Blean project and what we aim to conserve.

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From September until the New Year, there will be major forestry work taking place in the Conifer Planta-tions surrounding the northern car park. This is the final stage of harvesting and will see the removal of the mature corsican pine and major thinning of the remaining scots pine. Planted in the early fifties, these trees have gone through several stages of thinning, with the remaining crop left to grow to economic ma-turity. The crop that is about to be harvested will be turned into timber products and could even come back to the Blean district to be used in construction and building projects. Native vegetation will quickly colonise the newly cleared areas to support many different types of wildlife, including dormouse and nightingale. A variety of native trees are already growing in the plantations and the final phase of conifer removal will allow these to flourish. In time, some areas will be managed by tradi-tional coppicing and large glades will be created within the woodland, managed by grazing animals. Open areas within woodland are tremendously important for ground-nesting birds like the rare nightjar and for sun-loving plants and insects. The northern car park on Thornden Wood Road, will be closed for a period of approximately three months. During this period, visitors to the woods are asked to park at the southern car park.

John Wilson - Blean Biodiversity Warden

Mano Suzuki

Looking back at this past year while cycling to the office this morning, I felt it has been one of the longest years of my life. This may be because I have gained so much experience, such as chainsaw coppicing, brush cutting, working with grazing stock, working with volunteers, and surveying wildlife. I would have to say my best experience with the Trust, would be the bird surveys, including the nightingale surveys in spring. English spring is still cold, especially in the early morning, and you can imagine how dif-ficult it is to get up at 4am, but once you start to walk a transect, in the peace and quiet, it is a great escape. It is also great fun to identify birds from their songs and calls, although it took quite a while before I could identify even the most common birds. On the other hand, I can't deny I sometimes struggled with the work. The most diffi-cult experience was the chainsaw training course, which lasted for six days. The last four days consisted of practical work in the woods from 8.30am to 5pm; although challenging, it was worth it.

I would like to thank the staff in the Blean Team, all the volunteers and all the wildlife in the woods.

A fond farewell to our Trainee Wardens

Thornden Wood Forestry Work - Autumn/Winter 2010

Karen Rose

The John Muir Award is an environmental award scheme, with core challenges to ‘discover’, ‘explore’, ‘conserve’ and ‘share’ a ‘wild place’. I decided to take up the challenge and use the Blean as my wild place to discover; an ideal way to get more intimate with the surroundings and learn about the woodlands.

I explored the area through leisurely walks, as well as through my work as a Trainee. There are many dif-ferent habitats to explore in the Blean from the dark, bare pine plantations to the open rides with blooming woodland flowers.

Conserving has been a major part of my work in the Blean, often on task days, occa-sionally leading the tasks, such as coppicing, ride clearance and litter picking. This gave me the opportunity to enthuse others, including students, who hand coppiced their first ever trees. I also made tree identification cards showing species in the Blean, which will be left to share with people, even though my placement has ended.

I have learned many new practical skills and the John Muir Award has given me the opportunity to reflect on my experiences, and what I have learned, and truly appreci-ate the Blean.

chainsaw course –Mano Suzuki

Karen coppicing - Kathryn Barton

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Winter Task programme - running from September 2010 to March 2011

Forthcoming Events

The Blean Woodland Festival, Strode Park, Herne, Saturday 11th September, 10am– 4pm.

Volunteer Welcome Day, Thornden Wood, Sunday 5th September, 10am-3.30pm.

Volunteer Welcome Day, Thornden Wood, Tuesday 5th October, 10am-3.30pm.

Colours of Autumn Family Walk, Bleangate, West Blean Wood, Sunday 24th October, 2pm-4pm

Coppicing the Traditional Way, Thornden Wood, Sunday 21st November, 10am-3pm.

What’s happening in the Blean

We now have 4 highland cattle in West Blean and Thornden Woods; they arrived on the 20th August.

Kestrels are the most common bird of prey in Europe but their numbers have been declining in Britain,

however, they have been seen on pylons and are thought to be breeding on our reserves.

Silver washed fritillary butterflies (Argynnis paphia) have been spotted in East Blean and West Blean and

Thornden woods. This fritillary is one of the largest in the family and is not commonly seen in our woods.

New signage will soon be in place on the Blean Reserves, made from solid oak and

displaying one of our iconic species, the heath fritillary.

Your living landscape. Your living seas.

Head Office: Kent Wildlife Trust, TylandBarn, Sandling, Maidstone, Kent ME14 3BD. Tel: 01622 662012 Fax: 01622 671390 www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk info@kentwildlifetrust.org.uk.

Registered Charity No. 239992. A company limited by guarantee No. 633098

Blean Project Office: Mayton Oast, Mayton Lane, Broad Oak, Canterbury, CT2 0QW Tel: 01227 719506

South Blean Woods West / East Blean Canterbury Area / Blean

Dan / John John Wendy

Monday 1st & 3rd of the month

Tuesday Weekly, West Blean &

Thornden

Wednesday Wednesday reserved for

groups

Thursday Weekly, Larkey Valley

Friday Weekly,

East Blean

Sunday 1st of the month, East or

West Blean

Reserve Post Code Grid Ref: - Contact Tel

East Blean (Friday) CT3 4JS TR 194 642

Wendy Murray 07747 474363

East Blean (Sunday) John Wilson 07808 568821

West Blean (east) CT6 7NP TR 167 645 John Wilson 07808 568821

Thornden (west) CT6 7NZ TR 143 633

South Blean – Hunstead Wood

CT4 7NT TR 093 571 Dan Fagan or John Wilson

South Blean - Joan Beech Wood

ME13 9PU TR 063 565 Mayton Oast - 01227 719506

Larkey Valley CT4 7LH TR 123 556 Wendy Murray 07747 474363