Community action/Maidstone
The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Maidstone.
News
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Council offering free use of leisure centre hall, BBC News (Jan 04, 2026) - Nearly £500k funding offered for green projects, BBC News (Nov 09, 2025) — Maidstone Borough Council is offering nearly £500,000 worth of funding to support environmental initiatives to combat climate and nature crises in the borough
- App launched to improve night-time safety, BBC News (Sep 13, 2025)
- Hedgerows the 'unsung heroes of the countryside', BBC News (Feb 16, 2026) — A group of Kent volunteers is aiming to provide vital habitat for wildlife by planting about 3,800 yards (3,500m) of hedgerows in the countryside this year.
- ‘To live a normal life again, it’s a dream come true’: UK’s first climate evacuees can cast off their homes and trauma, theguardian.com (Feb 09, 2026)
- Behind the scenes as GPs face 'tidal wave of demand', BBC News (Jan 22, 2026)
- Record-breaking heat and dry spring leave parts of England without water, reuters.com (May 29, 2026)
- The English restaurant turning hospitality on its head, positive.news (May 27, 2026) — At a pay-as-you-can restaurant in Stroud, radical hospitality and good food are bringing strangers together
- Britain’s green transition should belong to everyone. Why is Labour so intent on stopping us having our say? George Monbiot, theguardian.com (May 27, 2026)
- Amsterdam, along with other major European cities, bans public adverts for meat and fossil fuels [BBC], Daily Alternative (May 22, 2026)
- How reindeer herds, nature and Sámi culture can thrive when forests are restored across northern Europe, theconversation.com (May 15, 2026)
- Rewilding giants: captive elephants rehomed in Europe’s first sanctuary, theguardian.com (May 07, 2026)
- Amsterdam, along with other major European cities, bans public adverts for meat and fossil fuels [BBC], Daily Alternative (May 22, 2026)
- Solidarity fields in Syria: Reviving local seed production, globalvoices.org (May 21, 2026) — A community garden on Damascus's edge is quietly rebuilding Syria's agricultural memory
- How reindeer herds, nature and Sámi culture can thrive when forests are restored across northern Europe, theconversation.com (May 15, 2026)
Networks and sustainability initiatives
[edit | edit source]- Bearsted CAN, Climate Action Network, bringing together like-minded people from Bearsted and the surrounding area who want to work together to face the Climate and Ecological Emergency, a community group for everyone. added 09:39, 8 November 2022 (UTC)
- Maidstone and district Eco community on facebook.com
- Marden Community Eco Hub private group on facebook
UK and international events
[edit | edit source]UK events
Jun 1 - 7, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Neighbourhood Watch Week, ourwatch.org.uk- Jun 1 - 7, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Volunteers Week, celebrating and saying thank you to the millions of volunteers across the UK, volunteersweek.org
- Jun 5 - 8, 2026 (Fri - Mon) — The Big Lunch, the first weekend in June every year, everyone is invited, anyone can join in and whatever food people bring to the table is there to be shared, edenprojectcommunities.com
- Jun 6 - 14, 2026 (Sat-Sun) — Great Big Green Week, celebrating communities taking action to tackle climate change and protect green spaces, greatbiggreenweek.com
- Jun 07, 2026 (Sun) — Open Farm Sunday, farmsunday.org
- Jun 8 - 14, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Bike Week, annual celebration showcasing cycling and how brilliant it is!, cyclinguk.org
- Jun 8 - 14, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Carers Week, carersweek.org
- Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Loneliness Awareness Week, lonelinessawarenessweek.org
- Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Better Transport Week, annual, week-long celebration of sustainable transport, bettertransport.org.uk
- Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Refugee Week, refugeeweek.org.uk
- Jun 18, 2026 (Thu) — Clean Air Day, actionforcleanair.org.uk
- Jun 19 - 21, 2026 (Fri - Sun) — The Great Get Together, annual celebration organised by The Jo Cox Foundation, helping unite people, bridge divides, and tackle loneliness, while showing the collective power we have as a community, jocoxfoundation.org
- Jun 29 - Jul 3, 2026 (Mon - Fri) — National Co-production Week, scie.org.uk
Global or international events
- Jun 03, 2026 (Wed) — World Bicycle Day, The bicycle is a "symbol of sustainable transport and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production, and has a positive impact on climate." (United Nations), June 3 each year, un.org
- Jun 05, 2026 (Fri) — World Environment Day, June 5, annually, worldenvironmentday.global
- Jun 08, 2026 (Mon) — World Oceans Day, June 8 each year, worldoceanday.org
- Jun 12, 2026 (Fri) — World Day Against Child Labour, every year on June 12, ilo.org
- Jun 17, 2026 (Wed) — World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, each June 17, un.org
- Jun 21 and all of June — World Localization Day, worldlocalizationday.org
- Jun 22, 2026 (Mon) — World Rainforest Day, June 22 is World Rainforest Day, worldrainforestday.org
2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events
CDC videos
[edit | edit source]Each week 3 different short videos from across the UK or world.
Rural sustainability UK, Community energy UK, Community action/Argyll and Bute / ...This week's featured Global videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism
Maidstone video
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Social inclusion
[edit | edit source]- Kenward Trust, link checked 09:56, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
- Maidstone Day Centre, Homeless Care, link checked 09:56, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
Community resources
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Kent Life, formerly the Museum of Kent Life, is an open-air rural life museum at Sandling, near Allington Locks, on the east bank of the River Medway. The museum includes a collection of historic buildings including a chapel, village hall and old houses. It also includes displays on agriculture, including a farm yard and farm animals.
Health and wellbeing
[edit | edit source]Blackthorn Trust is a UK charity in Maidstone, Kent which offers specialist therapies and rehabilitation through work placements in the Blackthorn Garden. They offer help to people with mental health difficulties, chronic pain and type 2 diabetes. The charity's work is based on the work of Rudolf Steiner (an Austrian philosopher, social reformer), and the charity aims to assist individuals to progress towards their full potential.
- Blackthorn Trust, link checked 09:45, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle
[edit | edit source]- Maidstone Freerecycle, Public Group with 25568 members
- Recycle for Maidstone (App)
Cycling activism
[edit | edit source]Maidstone Cycle Campaign Forum, charity representing the cycling community in Maidstone, aiming to improve the cycling conditions in Maidstone and encourage people to take up cycling as part of a healthy lifestyle, and also as a practical and environmentally friendly alternative to cars for short journeys to shops, schools, etc. link checked 09:42, 28 January 2022 (UTC)
Trees, woodland and forest
[edit | edit source]Oaken Wood is a 18.7-hectare (46-acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest west of Maidstone in Kent. It is a Geological Conservation Review site.
Known locally as "Barming Wood" due to the village of Barming being the closest settlement to Oaken Woods, it is an ancient woodland with orchids, dormice, tawny owls, nightingales and many species of bat (alongside various other species).
This site provides the best example of a very unusual topography, with cracking and tilting of underlying weaker strata during the Pleistocene by periglacial processes producing crests and troughs in the surface rocks.
A public footpath crosses the site.
In 2013, plans to uproot parts or all of Oaken Wood for a ragstone quarry were met with controversy due to its environmental importance (with various different species residing there) and its possibility in setting a legal precedent for up to 300 other ancient woodlands in the UK.
see also: News archive
About Maidstone
[edit | edit source]Campaigns
- Kent quarry extension is one of the biggest threats of the 21st century. Hermitage Quarry expansion plans: If approved, the loss could even surpass ancient woodland losses from the Lower Thames Crossing and HS2 schemes combined, woodlandtrust.org.uk, added 14:04, 9 August 2023 (UTC)
- Enough is enough - Maidstone's Housing & Infrastructure, petition against housebuilding levels in Maidstone via cprekent.org.uk, added 17:17, 18 February 2020 (UTC)
see also: Trees, woodland and forest, Maidstone news archive
Past events
- Aug 3 - Sep 8, 2023 (Thu-Fri) — Maidstone's Eco Hub
Maidstone is the largest town in the county of Kent in South East England, of which it is also the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river carried much of the town's trade as the centre of the agricultural county of Kent, which is known as the Garden of England. There is evidence of settlement in the area dating back before the Stone Age. The town, part of the borough of Maidstone, had an approximate population of 100,000 in 2019. Since World War II, the town's economy has shifted from heavy industry towards light industry and services.
News archive
[edit | edit source]- Nearly £500k funding offered for green projects, BBC News (Nov 09, 2025) — Maidstone Borough Council is offering nearly £500,000 worth of funding to support environmental initiatives to combat climate and nature crises in the borough
- App launched to improve night-time safety, BBC News (Sep 13, 2025)
- Planning free-for-all as Maidstone council misses five-year housing target, kentonline.co.uk (Jul 05, 2025) — “Horrendous... Developers will now rule the roost”, Cllr Valerie Springett
- Councillor backs campaign to block housing scheme, BBC News (May 20, 2025)
- Over 25,000 oppose quarry extension into ancient wood, woodlandtrust.org.uk (Aug 02, 2023) — "Over 25,000 of you joined us in responding to the consultation on the shocking proposal."
- Oaken Wood: The largest destruction of ancient woodland this century, stuartjeffery.net (Jul 17, 2023)
2011-2021
- The absurdity of Lenham Heath 'garden town', CPRE Kent, Nov 3, 2021...cprekent.org.uk
- Maidstone councillors of all political colours call on Government to ease housing targets. Jan 28, 2020...kentonline.co.uk
- £1 million for Biodiversity and Climate Change in Maidstone. Jan 24, 2020...news.maidstone.gov.uk
- Free Library chance as Penenden Heath expands, Mar 1, 2018...downsmail.co.uk
- CPRE Kent challenges Maidstone Local Plan, Nov 29, 2017...cprekent.org.uk
- Maidstone joins the Little Free Library revolution! 2016...downsmail.co.uk, date not found
- Men grow wellbeing with Parkwood community allotment project, June 4, 2014
- Oaken Wood Public Inquiry begins - could set precedent on ancient woodland protection across England, November 22, 2012...Woodland Trust Media Centre
- Kent case opens door to wider destruction of UK's richest wildlife habitat, May 10, 2011...woodlandtrust.presscentre.com. Woodland Trust urges Government to call in Kent County Council approval for quarry extension into ancient Oaken Wood.
Near you
[edit | edit source]Ashford - Malling - Medway - Swale - Tonbridge - Tunbridge Wells
See also
[edit | edit source]- Towards a more democratic and climate friendly way of meeting housing need across England
- London and South East England
- Saving water in South East England
| Authors | Phil Green |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Philralph (2022–2026). "Community action/Maidstone". Appropedia. Retrieved June 4, 2026. |