Our Friends Group
Who are we?
The Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood is run by a committee which meets monthly and brings together people with a range of skills, including councillors, naturalists, researchers, environmentalists, IT specialists, and members of the communities adjacent to the area. The committee produces a regular newsletter which goes out to several hundred interested people. It also organises walks, talks, and other activities for members.
The work of the Friends is underpinned and guided by the members of the Expert Advisory Group, which was set up at an early stage to advise on how best to achieve the goals of the organisation. The Expert Advisory Group brings together leading specialists from other organisations, including those concerned with wildlife in general, with trees and ponds, with birds and bats, with reptiles and amphibians, with particular open spaces, and with the countryside in general. Representatives of these organisations and of local community groups have expressed their support for the Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood by signing the Common Position on Old Park & Chequers Wood and supporting the proposal to extend the SSSI.
How are we organised?
The first AGM of the Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood took place in January 2022. In 2024, the Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood was registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), with the number 522090. In the registration document, the organisation was classified under three broad headings: Culture, heritage and science; environment and conservation; and community recreation and open space. These classifications reflect the wealth of opportunities the area offers to the people of Kent.
Committee Members
Pat Edwards
Chair
Kate Lovell
Secretary
Dane Buckman
Treasurer
Other Committee Members
Kate Allberry
Peta Boucher
Jean Butcher
Jan Pahl
Sian Pettman
William Rowlandson
Mike Smith
Our Vision and our Action Plan
The Friends of Old Park & Chequers Wood was set up in 2021. It has grown fast and is now a flourishing organisation with an energetic and hardworking committee and a great many enthusiastic members.
The Vision of the group is to create a bigger, better, and more connected area of ecological, archaeological and historic importance on the outskirts of Canterbury. An early statement summed up the Vision like this: The Old Park will be bigger in that it will create a large, continuous and protected open space in an area which is currently threatened with fragmentation, development, and road building. It will be better in terms of the management of ancient woodland, acid grassland and scrubland and of the habitats of many rare and protected species. It will be more connected in terms of ensuring green corridors for access to other wildlife sites.
The implementation of this Vision has recently been the focus of an Action Plan, produced by the Friends group. With a focus on the years from 2024 to 2030, this sets out the aims of the organisation and the actions which will be necessary if the aims are to be achieved. Read our Action Plan here.