Why not volunteer?

We need volunteers who are interested in gardens, horticulture, social and cultural history, local history or archaeology to get involved and help support our work .

The Trust would like to enrol more volunteers who are interested in researching gardens and if you would like to join our enthusiastic team helping to understand more about our garden heritage, please contact us .

Volunteers at Marle Place

Hatton Fruit Garden

What We Do

At Kent Gardens Trust, we believe that gardens, parks and other designed green spaces are a vital part of our heritage. Over the centuries, they have often been a source of pride and pleasure to people seeking peace and tranquillity in a busy world.

Doddington Place

Gardens, parks and green spaces that have stood the test of time can chart the many cultural and social changes over the generations and, in so doing, can provide a sense of place, a sense of belonging to a particular community. They are therefore highly valued both by their owners and by those who visit them, or use them.

But all too often we risk losing this vital part of our heritage. Gardens by their very nature are ephemeral and it is natural that they should evolve and change. This can be achieved successfully through careful management. By the same token, their ephemeral nature means that gardens can easily be at risk of neglect or destruction. Sometimes this can happen without an appreciation of the garden's history and significance.

The Trust's activities are all directed towards protecting this valuable heritage, for present and future generations.

Our starting point is to identify historic gardens and landscapes that are important enough to protect. Therefore, an important part of what we do is to research and record these gardens.

We also comment on planning applications where appropriate and, on occasion, become involved in conservation projects.

Finally, we communicate information about parks and gardens through our events, lectures and newsletters, and we hope to develop a wider education programme.