Community-based Initiatives

Environmental conservation should improve not only the quality of landscapes and habitats but also provide a foundation for local communities to enjoy them.

We work to establish and build relationships between people and nature.

The process can include: researching, engaging, involving, advising, planning, training or offering practical delivery.

As communities often need a helping hand at one or more stages of a project, this is a role the Partnership can easily fulfil.

Understanding Local Needs:

• Establish friends of groups
• Provide training to make user groups more self-sufficient
• Bottom-up approach: Enabling local communities take longer-term ownership
• Consultation: Including surveys/forums, Open space strategies

Advising and Planning:  

• Funding: Identifying funding sources / helping local groups apply for funding
• Management Plans: Incorporating land management, community participation, training, project management and budgeting

Delivering Projects: 

• Local participation: Schools, church groups, parish councils and friends of groups, providing opportunities to volunteer
• Interpretation: Creating, delivering and installing interpretation plans and materials, maximising communication effectiveness especially resources such as theExplore Kent website.
• Hosting community events from planting to photography to improve connections with nature

We at NWCKP work with many and diverse local groups. The SOLL is a Kent Wildlife Trust initiative to increase the participation of local people in maintaing a vibrant and healthy landscape. Learn more about the project here.

Take a look at some of the projects that the Partnership has completed with local communities. If you would like to develop a community-based project why not contact us on : 01322 621 239 to discuss.

These images are from The Life Through The Lens Project which aimed to help residents who live in and around the Belvedere Green Links Project area develop a new appreciation for their surroundings.

The project has encouraged participants to capture through photographs the regeneration that has been undertaken within the area and the natural world which surrounds them. 

Here we engaged local resdeints in tree planting projects across the boroughs, the photos show people planting trees along a newly created cycle path. The trees will grow to form a hedge providing shelter against wind and noise for the cyclists and natural habitat for birds and insects.

During the school holidays we run various events across our areas which actively engage people in learning about their surroundings and the wildlife that can be found there. This is a great way of getting people 'linked' with their local green-spaces.