Brewer and pub owner Shepherd Neame has named Kent Wildlife Trust as its charity of the year for 2022.
Shepherd Neame chief executive Jonathan Neame with Kent Wildlife Trust’s corporate partnerships manager, Lucie Bolton (centre), and director of fundraising, marcomms, and advocacy, Tamarind Ward. Photograph: Shepherd Neame
Based in Sandling, Maidstone, Kent Wildlife Trust (KWT) is the county’s leading conservation charity. It manages more than 80 nature reserves, ensuring the landscape is protected and enhanced for wildlife.
This year, KWT is preparing for several groundbreaking re-introduction projects with species such as bison, beavers, choughs, and pine martens. KWT is also paving the way for carbon lock-up and native habitat restoration with these nationally important but locally delivered projects which protect threatened land and seascapes across the county.
Shepherd Neame chief executive, Jonathan Neame, said: “We always aim to do the right thing for our communities and the local environment, which is why this year we are delighted to have Kent Wildlife Trust as our 2022 charity of the year.
“We are incredibly excited about working with them to help protect and improve habitats in the countryside, coast, and town, for the benefit of the wildlife and people of Kent.
“In addition to raising money for the charity during the year ahead, we also hope that our team members will get involved with some of the many volunteering opportunities on offer across the county.”
One of Kent Wildlife Trust’s current projects is to re-introduce bison to the county. Photograph: Selwyn Dennis
It is Shepherd Neame’s third charity of the year partnership, following the relaunch of its Sheps Giving charitable arm in 2018. The company’s Sheps Giving committee co-ordinates the donation of thousands of pounds worth of beer each year, along with vouchers for its pub and hotel estate, to local groups and individuals in support of their fundraising activities.
The Sheps Giving committee will be working with Kent Wildlife Trust to organise fundraising and promotional activities at the brewery and across its pub estate throughout the next 12 months.
As part of its fundraising activities, last year Shepherd Neame teamed up with Pennies, the digital charity box. Customers drinking and dining at selected pubs are invited to make a 25p donation to charity when they spend more than £30 and pay on a card via Chip & Pin. Every penny given goes to charity: 90% to Kent Wildlife Trust and 10% to Pennies.
Tamarin Ward, director of fundraising, marcomms, and advocacy at KWT, said: “We are delighted Shepherd Neame have chosen to support Kent Wildlife Trust as their charity of the year for 2022. It is only through the generous support of our donors, like you, that we are able to restore, save and improve our natural spaces.
“Nature has never needed as much as it does now! The natural world isn’t just something for us to enjoy; it sustains us. The decline of nature puts our very survival and prosperity under threat – it doesn’t have to be like this. We look forward to working together with you, your customers, and your teams, to take positive action for wildlife. Together we will create a wilder Kent.”
