The Kent Downs Trust is a charity dedicated to enhancing and conserving the Kent Downs National Landscape, making it accessible to everyone.
Recognised and protected for its outstanding and diverse characteristics, the Kent Downs is an Aspiring Cross-Channel UNESCO Global Geopark, celebrated for its rich geodiversity.
All donations to the Kent Downs Trust go towards our work to enhance and improve access to this special landscape.
This landscape offers something for everyone: a rich tapestry of farmland, woodland, wildlife, historic villages, rare chalk streams, and wildflower-rich chalk grasslands. We believe that everyone who works, lives, or visits the Kent Downs should experience its health, educational, and wellbeing benefits. However, we recognise that barriers prevent some from accessing this beautiful countryside, and nature itself faces threats from climate change and population growth. The precious natural world in Kent needs our care and attention.
The Kent Downs Trust is committed to working with partners and communities to address these challenges. We seek innovative ways to overcome barriers to participation through arts, education, and wellbeing activities, while protecting the distinctive natural and cultural qualities of the Kent Downs for current and future generations.
The official purposes of the Kent Downs Trust
To promote for the benefit of the public the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical, natural and cultural environment of the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and its setting in particular but not exclusively by:
- Carrying out work to improve the landscape, environment and built heritage for example by supporting traditional skills and promoting all arts inspired by the Kent Downs AONB and its setting.
- Advancing the education of the public in particular in the conservation, protection and enhancement of the physical, scientific, natural and cultural environment of the Kent Downs AONB and its setting.
Meet the Trustees
We are delighted to have the following wealth of talent and experience on the Board of Trustees:
Caroline Arnold – Chair of Trustees
Until recently, Caroline was the Director of Bore Place, a beautiful historic venue in Chiddingstone in the Kent Downs and home of the Commonwork Trust. Bore Place offers well-established programmes in education, sustainability, organic agriculture, horticulture and health and wellbeing.
In the past, Caroline’s roles have included Senior Manager in local government, Executive Director of an environmental charity in London, Defra Advisor and University Lecturer and Researcher. These roles have involved working in the areas of sustainability, environment, waste/resource management, as well as supporting vulnerable people.
Richard Haynes
Since 2004 Richard has made a major contribution to conservation of the Kent Downs landscape and the communities and wildlife it supports. During this time he has been involved with two major Landscape Partnership Schemes including the Medway Valley of Visions and the Up on the Downs Scheme in Dover, a £2.4 million project which he both developed and managed to completion. He now manages the White Cliffs Countryside Partnership, actively overseeing on-going management of this iconic landscape.
Paul Bristow
Paul is currently Director, Strategic Partnerships at Arts Council England, the national development agency for the arts, museums and libraries. He leads on a diverse range of priorities and has a particular focus on culture, place and the economy. He led the development of the Arts Council’s first position statement on culture and rural communities, as well as delivering major investment programmes for culture, tourism and the creative industries. He is a walker, cyclist and volunteer Scout leader is a regular visitor to the Kent Downs, and is passionate about the area and its future.
Nick Johannsen
Nick is Director of the Kent Downs National Landscape and a Fellow of the Landscape Institute. Nick has been working in wildlife and landscape conservation in Kent for nearly 30 years now; he was closely involved in creating Samphire Hoe near Dover, establishing the National Nature Reserve at Dungeness and now leads the Kent Downs National Landscape team which combines the strategy and delivery across this beautiful landscape. Nick is an Ex-Officio Trustee seeking to ensure that the new Kent Downs Trust and the Local Authorities partners in the Kent Downs partnership work closely and collaboratively.
The establishment phase of the Kent Downs Trust was made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.