The Wildwood Trust

Have you seen our new Soay lambs yet? We think we already know which one is the black sheep of the family 😉

A huge thank you to staff from Pfizer UK who gave up two full days of their time this week to volunteer at Wildwood. They faced a lot of rain but persevered to tidy up the woodland by the bears and in the new red squirrel walkthrough. Thanks!

The warmer the weather gets, the more time our bears will spend relaxing and cooling off in their pool. It's also a great spot for a quick snack of algae!

Europe is rewilding! Bears are back in Portugal... "The first brown bear sighting in Portugal in more than a century was confirmed by wildlife experts today, after reports of an animal in the northeast of the country.
The bear, which most likely belongs to a population living in the western Cantabrian Mountains in northern Spain, is thought to have wandered across the border.
... "The reappearance of individuals from this species in Portugal... has now been confirmed by the ICNF," the Portuguese Institute for Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) said.
Brown bears have been extinct in Portugal since the 19th century.
"The last reports of a stable presence of brown bears in Portugal are between the 18th and the end of the 19th century. They then died out," the ICNF said.
The animal was spotted in the Montesinho Natural Park and Braganca commune in northeastern Portugal. The town of Bragance is about 20km from the Spanish border.
Media reports say the last living bear in Portugal was killed in 1843 in the northwest mountainous region of Geres."
https://www.rte.ie/…/europe/2019/0509/1 048398-brown-bear-p…/
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We are currently looking to expand our busy café team and are seeking enthusiastic people with a passion for customer service. If you are 18 or over and looking for holiday/weekend work, this could be the opportunity for you.
The successful candidate will be involved in all aspects of our catering operation from serving coffee/meals, till work, clearing tables and serving ice cream from our new kiosk. Applicants will not necessarily need previous experience as training will be provided. Hours will be variable, but will include weekends and school holidays. To apply, send your CV to jobs@wildwoodtrust.org. Please do not apply via Facebook.

Our upcoming summer/autumn conservation courses for professionals, students and nature lovers are now available. All levels of experience are welcome to attend. For enquiries, please contact us on 01227 711 471 or email courses@wildwoodtrust.org.
Most courses can be booked online at https://wildwoodtrust.shop/collections/co nservation-courses
For enquiries, please contact us on 01227 711 471 or email courses@wildwoodtrust.org.

We wanted to share these fantastic images taken by regular Wildwood visitor, Zoe Johnston. Thanks Zoe!

Are you ready to enter the wolf woodland this half term....?

An important article detailing how the partnership between Wildwood Trust & Kent Wildlife Trust kicked of the rewilding movement in the UK back in 2001 and how this is vital if we are to tackle climate change & climate breakdown: "In 2001, Kent Wildlife Trust with the Wildwood Trust with Natural England imported two beaver families from Norway to manage a wetland nature reserve, pioneering the use of beavers as a wildlife conservation tool in the UK" https://www.resilience.org/…/the-wild-w ay-to-rapid-transit…/

Latest update...Two held over dormouse appeal funds theft https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ken t-48219965

Go wild in the woods this May Half-Term holiday at Wildwood. We have plenty of FREE activities to entertain both adults and children including daily talks/feeds, meet an animal sessions, touchtables, Wildwood Watch, Ice Age Day and our Wildwood Detective Trail with prize draw. We also have our menagerie of British wildlife from past and present, the new Red Squirrel Walkthrough, the Bear Bridge and our exciting adventure playpark - all wrapped up in 40 acres of ancient woodla...nd!
MEET AN ANIMAL Your chance to meet one of our cuddly, friendly critters. Ask at our admissions area for times on the day when you arrive.
DAILY TALKS Find out more about the history and behaviour of our animals with engaging talks and feeds by our wildlife experts.
11am - Soay Sheep 12pm - Bears 1pm - Otters 2.15pm - Birds of Prey 3pm - Red Squirrels
DAILY ACTIVITIES (including)
TOUCHTABLES - Get close to nature and interact with antlers, skulls, furs and other tactile animal artifacts at our touchtables. HOW TO FEED A ZOO - Learn all about the nutritional needs of our animals and what it takes to keep over 200 animals fit and healthy. RED SQUIRREL DREY CRAFTING - Make your own squirrel home out of paper. HORSE DIGESTION CRAFTING - Learn how horses process food. BIRD FLYING - Our keepers will be flying our birds of prey at 2.15pm every day.
* All talks will take place at the animals' enclosures (birds of prey talk will take place at the outdoor arena next to the ravens). Talks, meet an animal and activities may vary, please check the noticeboard on entry to the park for daily details.
WILDWOOD DETECTIVE TRAIL One of our animals being naughty! Can your family figure out which animal is running amok around Wildwood? Look at the clues, fill out the trail card with the correct answer and then enter into our prize draw for a chance to win vouchers.
WILDWOOD WATCH - Wednesday 29th May 11am Morning - Nature Walk 2pm Afternoon - Nest & Eggs Interactive Talk
BACK TO THE ICE AGE - Thursday 30th May 11am Morning - Atlatl Spear Throwing 2pm Afternoon - Tribal Face Painting, Make a Shell Bracelet and Ice Age Dress-Up
* Back to the Ice Age afternoon session must be booked in advance (speak to our shop staff on 01227 209621 or email help@wildwoodtrust.org). Limited Spaces. Min Age 7. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
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Latest BBC news report on the dormouse donation theft and news of the arrest of two of the suspects. Watch it here if you missed it earlier this evening. Donations to our dormouse appeal can be made through facebook or our website: https://wildwoodtrust.org/baby-dormouse-r escue

Breaking News! Two men have been arrested in connection with the Wildwood robbery. Wildwood would like to thank all supporters who donated to our dormouse appeal or assisted us in helping the police with their enquiries. The responses of support was magnificent and we really appreciate your help. The police have asked us to remove photos of the suspects caught on CCTV cameras at Wildwood. https://theisleofthanetnews.com/…/two-m en-arrested-in-rams…/?

We have now passed on to the police all information gathered in relation to the robbery at Wildwood of donations to our dormouse appeal, which were stolen on Sunday night. Thank you all so much for your concern and support, we are really touched by the huge response we've had and we hope the thieves will now be brought to justice. Donations to our dormouse appeal can still be made here https://wildwoodtrust.org/baby-dormouse-r escue and will be put towards rescuing these adorable creatures from their tragic struggle for survival.

Thieves steal money given to save baby dormice in charity smash and grab. Staff and volunteers were heart-broken when thieves smashed their way into the Wildwood discovery park near Canterbury. On Sunday night / early Monday morning they smashed a door, ransacked the shop, forced open tills and stole hundreds of pounds in donations for the baby dormice appeal. Police were called and are investigating the crime and examining CCTV footage taken during the robbery.
Wildwood Trus...t are appealing to supporters for help to replace this money to ensure the vital conservation work can still go ahead. Wildwood’s dedicated conservation team are the leading experts in breeding dormice for a national reintroduction programme. Wildwood has bred more than 170 dormice and has successfully reintroduced them to woodlands where they have previously become extinct Scientific evidence shows the perilous state of Britain’s dormice that, without our help, face almost certain extinction. Despite being one of our most endearing woodland mammals, its desperate plight has alarmed scientists and the situation is getting much worse!
“This vile act of stealing money donated for our vital conservation efforts that was so generously given by our supporters is beyond despicable. We are hoping Wildwood's supporters will rally to our aid and help us continue our conservation work to save the dormouse“ - Sarah Anstee, Wildwood Appeals Officer
Donations to our dormouse appeal can be made by visiting our park or donating online here: https://wildwoodtrust.org/baby-dormouse-r escue
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Jurer the Scottish Wildcat on the prowl...

It's Hedgehog Awareness Week and we're sharing a selection of hedgehoggie videos taken by one of our fantastic volunteers, Lorraine, from her kitchen window. How cool is this!?
#HedgehogWeek

Three years in the making, a global assessment of nature report has been compiled by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). It runs to 1,800 pages.
The brief, 40-page "summary for policymakers", published today at a meeting in Paris, is perhaps the most powerful indictment of how humans have treated their only home.
The report's authors say there are a number of direct drivers threatening wildlife, of which land use chang...e is the primary one.
Read more at the link...
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We have some new residents at the park, two beautiful polecat-ferrets! They're currently living near to the badgers in the enclosure between the bear bridge exit and the weasel enclosure. Come see them this bank holiday...

What a day!! We were prepared for areas to be closed due to the bad weather....but everything was open for business!! We had five children with us today, varying in age, (Two years- 11years) and everybody had the best day. Unfortunately, my eldest daughter had a freak accident towards the end of our visit, meaning we needed to visit the first aider. She was very well cared for, and we couldn't thank the lady who cared for her enough. Thank you all for a great day. We can't wait to use our membership card again really soon.

We visited Wildwood for a Twilight tea and visit to Santa for my daughter, niece and nephew. This was a perfect way to spend an evening with the children with a nice dinner for them and some great entertainment put on by the elves and fairy. The visit to Santa was wonderful with him taking the time to speak to and engage with each of the children (and give them a few tips for Christmas eve). Each of the children got a lovely present and a photo of them sitting in the sleigh with Santa. We will definitely be visiting again next year! Thank you for such a lovely evening!

We really enjoyed ourselves, it's great for all ages and it's all flat as well so great for prams and wheelchairs. The animals were mostly all out even in the heat which was good as having a little one he struggles to see things. Great play area for the over kids and under 5's and the restaurant was reasonably priced for meals and they do a kids lunch bag for £3 which is perfect of you forget to take food with you!!

Under 3's are FREE so definitely worth going if need somewhere to kill a good few hrs.

We love Wildwood! My other half, our infant son, and myself bought a year pass (with 3 bonus months when we bought it) it was £60 for the 3 of us. Brilliant price! And it's worth so much more. We knew we wanted the year pass within the first few steps of the park. Wildwood does such great work for the animals, and every staff member is friendly and informative! The construction has never bothered us over the last year, and just goes to show how they are always improving the area. I waited patiently for the otters to turn up, and we were straight down a few days later and saw one curious little fella straight away! I was beside myself, and he seemed so happy swimming about. I recommend Wildwood to anyone and everyone! We were just talking about coming down on Monday and taking my otherhalfs mother who has been wanting to go.



So upset my all the negative and low reviews. They are totally uncalled for. We always end up seeing most of the animals, and even missing one of two does not deter from the lovely day.



10/5 stars. �������������

Visited today with my daughters, granddaughters and two baby grandsons. I want to say what a wonderful place you have at Wildwood: I love the way the areas are set out, through woodland and with unobtrusive fencing. I loved the elevated platforms and the Bear bridge - adding to the whole animal encounter experience. The staff were happy and friendly, the play area is the best I’ve ever seen and the gift shop had reasonably priced memorabilia of the day. Thanks to all of you who work so hard to further knowledge, understanding and conservation of these amazing animals!

Truly stunning place, been 4 times now and it never fails to make my day amazing, a wonderfully cheap membership price working out to only £4 a month for 3 of us, seriously can't get enough of this place

Myself and a friend did the bear experience this morning and absolutely loved it! The management of the bears recovery at Wildwood has been so sympathetic to their needs as well as understanding of the traumas that they have gone through in the past. It was an absolute honour to spend time with two such beautiful animals. I am not a bear expert... but I recognise alert, engaged, relaxed animals when I see them. Thank you so much, it was a pleasure to meet the guys who take such good care of them :-)

Just returned from the Winter Wednesday Talk and Tea. A new idea which is a number of dates set aside for a Private Group Tour with Steve Kirk a very knowledgable representive of The Wildwood Trust.

We must say that it was money very well spent £20 per person for 2 and a 1/2 hours of expert attention.

It started with a welcome cup of a hot drink of our choice in the cafe. Then we got to see “behind the scenes” of a number of animals that we did not realise were at Wildwood, the Doormouse and Water Vole being a prime example. Also we joined a number of Keeper Talks.

Our thanks must go out to Steve Kirk for his time and patience in explaining the “Workings” of Wildwood and of passing on to us his wealth of Experience and Knowledge of Conservation in General. Also his patience in answering all of our questions, however silly they might have appeared at the time.

Then we finished up at the Cafe and had a pre prepared light tea of tasty sandwiches, scones and cake washed down with a hot drink of our choice.

A well worth, Value for money Afternoon treat for a visitor.

We urge anyone to go next time you see it advertised. We certainly would go again.

Thank You So Much Wildwood and All Staff.

It has been a while since we have visited Wildwood but the prospect of getting a glimpse of the the new wolf cubs urged us out.

We had the pleasure of seeing them playing with their parents and having a feed. Superb.

It was so good to see the bears so relaxed in their wonderful woodland enclosure.

The otters were out and about performing aquatic manoeuvres with each other and we watched them being fed. So lovely to see them so up close.

We ate a very reasonably priced lunch in the cafe which was served promptly and was hot and tasty. Well done Wildwood a very lovely Sunday off.

I did the Keeper for the Day experience yesterday and have to say it was awesome! Thanks to Nick for letting me follow him around all day. I loved getting to help out. It was great to see the care and attention the staff have for these animals. I can't recommend this experience enough but if that's not your thing, just go and enjoy the animals and appreciate the work the Trust is doing for conservation.

Have been lucky enough on my week off to spend two days at Wildwood doing the photography day with Dave Butcher and then the Arctic fox experience. Despite the wet weather had two brilliant days. The animals are beautiful and the staff at wildwood so friendly and knowledgeable. Couldn’t recommend it enough.

Had a great time today even though it was muddy and drizzly. The play area for kids is great so that kept the 3 boys occupied for ages. Especially the death slide. Loved watching the otters and the reindeer with the fabulous man talking to us about them. He was extremely informative and he even put up with my husbands questions!!! �

It didn’t matter that some of the animals were hibernating it got us all out together and the boys away from technology for the day.

Food was priced well and was what was expected. The gift shop had some great things in and we all went away with a treat. All of the staff were friendly.

On the way in I set up the family annual ticket for £7 per month as I saw on line. Can’t wait to come all the time over the next few month.

Excellent day out! A few of the enclosures closed for updating, a tad disappointed that we weren't able to see the wolves but everything else made up for it! The bears are lovely and the bridge is a great touch, my 3 year old niece loved conquering it. Also great to see the polecat enclosure - we were there when the polecat was eating and although gruesome, it was a great learning experience for my niece about where our food comes from! Too early for the badgers too - they were tunneled deep down sleeping, but again, it's a great experience to learn about how they behave in the wild. The staff are fantastic, we saw a domestic cat near the lynx enclosure and were very worried, the staff member I spoke to was friendly and went to have a look to make sure it was in a safe area. We have a yearly pass and will be returning, perhaps later in the day for some badgers! :)

Cannot praise this place enough! The only animal park I go too. I do not agree with zoo's as there is no reason to take a healthy animal from the wild and cage them up for human entertainment. Wildwood how ever are NOT a zoo, they are a rehabilitation centre. They rescue and release where they can, and if its not possible to release then these animals have a fur ever home! The staff are wonderful, polite, professional and stop to answer any questions. Facilities are fantastic and enclosures are so wild and free. I congratulate wildwood for being humane and compassionate. I have been visiting wildwood for 15 years, and just can't thank them enough for their amazing conservation work � xxxx

Always on the lookout for animal days out and today was the first time we visited here and omg! What a find! Such an amazing place to enjoy wildlife in very natural enclosures it’s like walking through the woods. I’m genuinely baffled by the comment about the enclosures being too small �. I’ve been to lots of other places and the enclosures are so nice here. Can’t wait to come back and do the ‘bear experience’. �

After not visiting since my children were tiny I was truly amazed at how much this place had grown in the last 10 years. Super impressed today with everything about it and will definitely return again. Absolutely stunning Bear enclosure, very spacious and full of natural growth, the Bears looked happy �

A fantastic place full of adventure for young children and useful facts about the animals for older children and adults alike. The new Top Trumps game about the animals is another fun edition for older children as they go round.



The relatively new rope bridge across the bear enclosure is just fantastic and our 3 year old daughter loves it so much she goes over 3 or 4 times every visit, dragging us along behind her!



Every visit is a little different as sometimes the animals are active and other times they’re all fast asleep! It’s the luck of the draw.

There is a fantastic adventure playground with a range of things to climb and slide down suitable for children of various ages.



Lots of outside seating for picnics and a café if you want ready made hot or cold food, or an ice cream.



It’s great to see the work Wildwood do helping re-wild animals like the Beavers, or give a home to previously mistreated animals, like the bears.

It’s not the cheapest place to visit accordingly, but value for money is excellent as you can see where your money’s going, and they work hard to give everyone of all ages a great day out as well.

We loved it today. Great walk and to se ether animal, concerned over the red squirrels, they seemed a bit pent up, the two of them just kept bouncing of the cage constantly for minutes on ends, like wanting to get out. Enclosure seemed a bit bare? Maybe need a bigger outlet? Shame they are beautiful creatures. Bears were a treat, especially play fighting for the crowds

I hate to write this, as I know that lots of rehabilitation goes on at Wildwood.

But today’s visit was disappointing - lots of empty, unkempt enclosures.



I understand the heat, and lots being out of your control.

When we last visited we saw lots of signs for ongoing maintenance, but almost two years on those signs still seem to be in the same areas.

As a family, and professionally as an owner of a club for families of children with disabilities I just feel that something could be done a little better.



It was sad to see your red squirrels so stressed out.



Today, something just wasn’t quite right and I’ve felt I needed to apologise to the families that came along on our trip.