December Newsletter

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December Newsletter

Top Forest Development   With the help of a generous donation of £49,739 from 'Viridor Credits Environmental Company', supported by further donations from visitors and members, Wildwood Kent is now able to begin a dream project that will pave the way for a truly wild UK woodland. In collaboration with Kent Wildlife Trust, Wildwood Kent is developing an innovative new wilding project to monitor the effects of reintroducing formerly native big grazers such as bison and wild boar to a large area of woodland in the Blean, next to Wildwood Kent. To enable the project we are transforming a large area of our Kent wildlife park, in particular the area containing our boar, bison and Konik horses. This transformation will enhance the standards of our conservation work and improve the park's woodland habitats. It will also provide better access for education groups and researchers to learn about our ancient woodland. This transformation of our top forest area will be hugely beneficial for our woodland and animals, but we will have to close parts of the park over winter. Apologies in advance for the inconvenience.

Our lynx family is growing!   This October, two beautiful lynx kittens were welcomed from France to their new home at Wildwood, Kent. The male and female have quickly settled into their new surroundings at our new lynx enclosure next to Cara and Shria, our lynx sisters.

Flo, the Arctic fox   Bard, one of our Arctic fox siblings, moved to Highland Wildlife Park last year. This year, he successfully fathered a litter and we're happy to welcome one of his daughters to Wildwood. Flo has joined her Uncle Teddy and Aunty Lyra in the Arctic fox enclosure. Keep an eye out for her, she's beautiful!

Christmas Grotto   Spaces are booking fast for our Christmas Grotto...don't leave it too late! Dates available can be seen on our website. Phone us on 01227 209621 to reserve your spot!   Find out more

Christmas Gifts   Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for an animal lover? Why not treat them to a Wildwood animal experience or adoption… Wildwood are giving participants the exciting opportunity to meet and feed our bears, wolves, lynx and Arctic foxes. Find out more and order now at our shop. Wildwood animal adoptions last for one year and you can choose from any of the resident animals at Wildwood. There are different levels of adoption available to suit all occasions and budgets. You can order through our secure online Adoptions page, by speaking directly with our shop staff at the park or by phoning us on 01227 712111. Make sure to order soon to guarantee delivery for Christmas. Many of the animals at Wildwood are either extinct in the UK or under threat. All proceeds from experiences and adoptions go directly towards preserving our native wildlife.   Find out more

South Hoath Wood   Wildwood would like to give a huge thank you to all of our amazing supporters and members for helping us to reach our target of £23,000 to complete the purchase of South Hoath Wood! This means we can now ensure the woodland and rare wildlife that depends on this habitat for survival, will be protected forevermore.

Rewilding Courses   Across Europe the move to rewild – to restore natural ecosystems using natural processes (animals) - is gathering momentum. Therefore as part of our conservation course programme we will be running a series of rewilding workshops examining the pros and cons of bringing back large herbivores and carnivores to modern Britain. The first of which  begins on Saturday 30th November and is entitled: Rewilding 1: Big Grazers for Big Landscapes and looks at the large herbivores which kick start landscape changes to benefit biodiversity, including primitive horses and bison. The second course will be held on January 25th and will be entitled Bringing Back the Beaver, looking at the vital role of the beaver in reinstating wetlands and enhancing biodiversity. Both of these have proved extremely popular are now fully booked. However, we will be running courses on both lynx and wolves early next year, so please look out for them when our spring course programme comes out in January.

Unicorn Adoptions   Our magical limited edition Unicorn Adoption Packs are now available. Donna Langridge, a local artist, has kindly donated this beautiful plaque to be displayed at the area rumoured to be best for viewing our unicorns. She has worked with us previously, creating the stunning large wolf prints in the wolf viewing platform, and being a true unicorn believer herself wanted to help others to support our work.   Buy now

Farewell to Dora the dormouse   This month, we said goodbye to quite a Wildwood character. Dora the hazel dormouse came to Wildwood in 2010, as a rescued orphan, and reached an impressive age of 9 years and 7 weeks - a remarkably long life for a dormouse. As with many Wildwood dormice she was originally intended to become part of our breeding programme, to ensure the future of these magnificent little creatures. However, it soon became clear that Dora had more talents, as well as a big personality. She was exceptionally calm when handled and so became a regular at Wildwood's education courses, teaching more than 200 people about the hazel dormouse throughout the years, and participating in a number of research projects to help us understand more about dormouse behaviour. Dora had a good and safe life at Wildwood, we are missing her already!

Hello to Sid the dormouse   Although Dora has moved on, we're fortunate enough to welcome a plucky new dormouse to Wildwood. Sid was recently found in a nest box in Cossington Woods alongside three siblings. Sid and his siblings were found in a very bad way, and unfortunately he was the only survivor. Much like Dora, Sid is exceptionally calm when handled, and will likely take over Dora's duties as our Educational Dormouse. He's already appeared on Sky and BBC recently!

Park closed on Weds, 4th December   We're improving our electrical systems at the moment and will be closing the park on Wednesday 4th December to upgrade the infrastructure. We will be back open on Thursday 5th December. Thank you for your understanding.

Great news for Wildcats   Over the next six years, Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) will lead the Saving Wildcats project which will build on the work of the Scottish Wildcat Action partnership, supported by a recently secured £3.2 million EU LIFE grant. Wildwood is an active participant in the conservation breeding project for wildcats and our kittens will shortly be moving to new homes for breeding purposes. We're extremely proud to be involved in this fantastic project!

Wildwood Trust | Copyright - © 2019 Herne Common Herne Bay Kent CT6 7LQ Registered Charity No: 1093702 Tel: 01227 712 111 info@wildwoodtrust.org If you no longer wish to receive emails from us please follow this link

More wildness at wildlife charity

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Photo: Wildwood Trust

More WILDNESS at wildlife charity

* PRESS RELEASE * With the help of a generous donation of £49,739 from 'Viridor Credits Environmental Company', a Kent wildlife organisation is now able to do a dream project, that will pave the way for a truly wild UK woodland. In the UK we are in the midst of nothing less than a wildlife catastrophe, with a 65% decline in native species and ecological systems under huge pressure. At the same time, we face climate change, the potential collapses in food production, and many more environmental challenges. To help combat these challenges, a focus on the health of our woodland and native species is essential.  This is why the Wildwood Trust in Kent is transforming a large area of their wildlife park. This will not only enhance the standards of their conservation work but also improve the park's woodland habitats. It will also improve access for education groups and researchers to learn about our ancient woodland habitats. -'These substantial upgrades will improve animal welfare and make it a lot easier for visitors to learn about our animals and their natural habitats. It also allows us to create a healthier and much more natural woodland within the park', says Paul Whitfield, Director General of The Wildwood Trust This project is funded by a grant from the Landfill Communities Fund by the organisation Viridor Credits. They are an independent, not-for-profit organisation that provides funding for community, heritage and biodiversity projects in the UK and Scotland.

Photo: Adrian Bennett

This project is the first step towards something with an even bigger impact on nature and wildlife. In collaboration with Kent Wildlife Trust, Wildwood is developing an innovative new project to monitor the effects of reintroducing formerly native big grazers such as bison and wild boar to a large area of woodland – the first time this has ever been tried in the UK. - 'We know from research that animals such as bison have an incredibly positive impact on their environment, they open up spaces in dense woodlands to create room for more species and wildlife and they help aerate soil and spread seeds', says Paul Whitfield, Director General at The Wildwood Trust This Viridor Credits funded project is an important step towards realising this aim.  Alison Salvador, General Manager said, -'Viridor Credits are delighted to be able to support such an innovative project. Not only will the aesthetic quality of the area be greatly improved by replacing the old and worn fences but the rewilding scheme will have a huge impact on the woodland area. This will ensure that the area supports a much more diverse array of plant and animal life and will allow visitors and volunteers to reconnect with nature'. Both projects are essentially about creating more nature, raising awareness about the essential role that native species have in restoring our habitats and inspiring other wildlife organisations to do the same. CONTACT: Julie Luna Bayer: julie@wildwoodtrust.org 01227 209618 or 07453 497086 Peter Smith: peter@wildwoodtrust.org 07986 828229

FOLLOW US Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thewildwoodtrust Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/WildwoodTrust Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/thewildwoodtrust   ABOUT WILDWOOD Wildwood Trust opened in 1999 as a centre of excellence for the conservation of British wildlife, and was established as a registered charity in 2002. Wildwood is Kent's best British wildlife park. Home to over 200 native animals, past and present and set in 40 acres of beautiful ancient woodland where visitors can see bears, wolves, bison, deer, owls, foxes, red squirrels, wild boar, lynx, wild horses, badgers and beavers plus many more. As one of the leading British animal conservation charities in the UK, Wildwood Trust is dedicated to saving Britain's most threatened wildlife. Wildwood Trust have taken part in many ground-breaking conservation programmes to date, which include, saving the water vole, using wild horses to help restore Kent's most precious nature reserves, bringing the extinct European beaver back to Britain and returning the hazel dormouse & red squirrel to areas where they have been made extinct.

Wildwood Trust Herne Common, Herne Bay, nr Canterbury, Kent CT6 7LQ Registered Charity No 1093702  +44(0)1227 712 111 info@wildwoodtrust.org

Magical Unicorn Adoptions Available Now!

Treat someone special to a Limited Edition Unicorn Adoption this Christmas! Treat someone special to a Limited Edition Unicorn Adoption this Christmas! View in your browser

We love Unicorns... do you? Adopt a mythical Unicorn today

Adopt a unicorn

To celebrate this morning's unicorn meteor shower at 4:50am, our magical unicorn adoptions are back and only available for a limited time. Every purchase of one of these exclusive packs includes a soft toy, and a sprinkling of rainbow dust. More importantly, by adopting a unicorn, you will be helping the rest of our native British animals and woodland to provide the best conditions for the unicorn's wellbeing. Though there has never been a confirmed sighting of a unicorn in the UK, we are convinced that they do exist, as many unicorn believers have reported catching a glimpse of them at our parks. Unicorns tend to prefer woodland, where they can live peacefully, which is why Wildwood is such an ideal habitat for them. We are unsure on the exact number of unicorns at Wildwood as they are such shy and elusive creatures, but it has been rumoured that there may have even been another recent unicorn birth in the park. Come and visit us and you could be one of the privileged few to spot one. As part of your unicorn adoption pack, a plaque with your name on will be displayed at the area that is rumoured to be best for viewing our unicorns.

Adopt a unicorn today

All Wildwood animal adoptions last for a whole year and are the perfect Christmas gift for animal lovers of all ages. You can choose from any of the resident animals at Wildwood and there are different levels of adoption available to suit all occasions and budgets. Our adoption packs start from £25 and include a photo, a one-day entrance ticket (not included in our digital download package), certificate of adoption, animal fact sheet and a personalised plaque which will be displayed at the enclosure of the adopted animal. Many of the animals at Wildwood are either extinct in the UK or under threat. The Wildwood Trust is working to protect Britain's most endangered wildlife and to reintroduce animals back into the British woodland. All proceeds from adoptions go directly towards protecting and preserving our native wildlife.

Visit our secure online shop to see all of the animals available and to order an adoption pack. If you don't wish to order online, you can call us on 01227 712111, or speak to our shop staff when you next visit the park. To avoid disappointment, please make sure to order with plenty of time to guarantee delivery before Christmas. If your chosen animal is not listed on our adoptions page, don't worry, it might just be hiding! Please give us a call on 01227 712111 or email us to discuss any of our adoption packages. Experience days and gift vouchers are also available to purchase in our shop and are another great Christmas gift idea for those who would love something different! Options include photo days, animal experiences, guided tours and junior zookeepers.

Find out more

Wildwood Trust | Copyright - © 2019 Herne Common Herne Bay Kent CT6 7LQ Registered Charity No: 1093702 Tel: 01227 712 111 adoptions@wildwoodtrust.org If you no longer wish to receive emails from us please follow this link