Forget-Me-Not cafe Feburary

Published: 28 February 2024

Today we had the wonderful Kent Wildlife Trust come speak about the Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, specifically on the history of it came to be and what nature is currently there. As the reserve is just on the doorstep of the Station, it's great to make that connection and help promote the reserve- some people don't even know the reserve is there! 

Bit of background: The reserve wasn't always a lake nor did it have much wildlife around due to Sevenoaks being predominantly led by farming all through to the 20th Century. The development of the reserve came about in 1956 when it was a commercial gravel pit and still being used by the sites owner Redland Gravel, now known as Tarmac. The project to turn it into a reserve was new to the UK, with this being one of the first 'pits' being transformed into lakes. It was particularly difficult as the pits were so deep that machinery was a struggle to get out thus they had to sink them when the lake was formed. Quite a lot of the lake and the islands within are man made or filled by natural rainwater. The project was lead by owner Jeffery Harrison (1922 -78), a local family doctor, naturalist, and wildfowler whom the reserve's visitor centre is named after.