In a nutshell...
Funding: £90,000
Length: ~2 years
Location: Kent Downs National Landscape
Aim: To engage community volunteers to map and restore ecologically- and culturally-significant pond habitat throughout the landscape.
Opportunities: Corporate visit days, corporate volunteering
The opportunity
Here’s a chance to support a restoration project steeped in history and heritage, with people at its core.
The Heritage Ponds project aims to restore dew and sole ponds across the Kent Downs National Landscape, recognising their significance to its character, heritage, and biodiversity. Important for nature and for people: ponds were once a critical water source for our livestock and reminiscent of old farming practices.
Both natural and man-made ponds remain critical freshwater habitat, supporting biodiversity across the landscape; but with mechanised agriculture and modern feeding systems, we have lost around 75% of ponds in the last century.
Unfortunately, this will have knock-on effects to important species that we can’t afford to lose. And as the climate warms and water becomes more scarce, ponds will be more important than ever.
The project
Connecting communities with their landscape heritage, this project will teach volunteers to use the LiDAR mapping tool to produce a digital map of ponds past and present.
This digitised map will form the basis of restoration work for up to 10 ponds, possibly spread over two winter seasons (2025/6).
A diverse range of volunteers are already engaged with the project and more will be encouraged to take part.
Other areas have also recognised the ecological and cultural importance of our heritage ponds, with similar projects underway in Norfolk and the South Downs.
This locally-led community project aligns with national priorities, particularly around water conservation.
Mapping ponds across Kent
Key outputs
- A digitised LiDAR map of the heritage ponds throughout Kent Downs National Landscape.
- A key dataset to be used for varied conservation and restoration work.
- 6-10 ponds restored throughout the duration of the project.
- ~20 volunteers trained in the LiDAR tool.
- More volunteers engaged with their landscape, learning about its ecology, heritage features, and local stories.
- One critical blueprint for recording and restoring culturally and ecologically signficiant habitat for a protected area.
Interested in this project?
Reach out to the team today
