About Bearsted Woodland Trust

Bearsted Woodland Trust (BWT) is a charity registered with the Charity Commission. It was founded in 2003 when Bearsted resident Richard Ashness bought land at Church Landway from developers to provide green space for the village. Further land donations by villagers have seen the green space grow to 26-acres of woodland and meadow between Church Landway and Roundwell. BWT raises funds from the public via annual and lifetime subscriptions.

BWT’s charitable objects, as set out by the Charity Commission, are:

To preserve and maintain the land known as Church Landway in the interests of social welfare to provide a place of exercise and recreation for the benefit of the inhabitants of the village of Bearsted and its neighbourhood and visitors (without distinction of sex, race or of political, religious or other opinions) including the provision of sports and recreational facilities and the erection of any buildings suitable for or ancillary to these purposes;
In the interests of conservation to develop, conserve, protect and restore the natural resources and animals and plant life at Church Landway;
To advance public knowledge by the conservation, protection, restoration and development of natural resources and animals and plant life at Church Landway;
To further such other charitable purposes as the Trustees in their discretion determine.

Strategic direction is determined by a board of five Trustees

Richard Ashness (Chair)

Kim Martin

Dena Ashness

Martin Gray

Christian Esposito

Operations are overseen by an five-person Management Committee, plus two co-opted members

John Wale (Chair)

Adrian Bouwens (Deputy Chair/Ecology)

Vacancy (Maintenance volunteering)

Chris Street (Membership)

Martin Gray (Treasurer)

Co-opted

Barbara Long (Newsletter)

Martin Herrema (Website)

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