Proposal for Margate Nature Trail Project to be revived

Children's author and illustrator Dosh Archer and her latest creation inspired by the nature trail and King Street tree

Two nature lovers have taken up the baton of a Margate Nature Trail Project.

Initially proposed several years ago by another lover of Margate and nature, now Dosh Archer and Aubrey McKenzie (pictured below), from the group Rewilding Margate, have called a Zoom meeting on Sunday, June 27 at 10.30am to bring together people to explore forming a working group to grow the project.

The Margate Nature Trail aims to create a guided route through the Old Town, Hawley Square and Trinity Hill areas, connecting locations of natural beauty, interest, and spiritual inspiration. It would link the sea and the land, increase the footfall around local businesses, and improve appreciation and enjoyment of the area, supporting the objectives of the Town Deal scheme.

The fledgling idea for the trail route begins at the Main Sands, goes through the Old Town with its planted flowers and hanging baskets, along New Street to Hawley Square, across to the trees on the corner of Union Row, then down to the sycamore at the historic site around the Tudor House on King Street, and then up the hill again to the Trinity Memorial Gardens, a place of healing and reconciliation. More ideas are needed.

Old Town resident and bestselling children’s author and illustrator Dosh Archer  has been inspired by the tree in King Street to create the characters ‘The King of King Street and Flo the Crow’ – a crow who always perches on the topmost branch.

She says she now wants to reach out to other artists and creatives in Margate, adding: “Nature is a huge inspiration for artists and a Margate Nature Trail would provide a chance to direct people to street art and could also encompass art projects too.”

The King of King Street and Flo the Crow activity sheets are currently available free of charge for children to complete in some Margate cafes and venues including Proper Coffee in the High Street.

The King Street Sycamore marks the perfect stop off point on the nature trail, before people climb the hill to the Memorial Gardens. Local shops, a coffee shop, and a pub and restaurant are in the area of the tree, which acts a landmark and a visual connector between The Old Town, Trinity Hill and Cliftonville.

Dosh said: “This whole area is also of historical significance with the George and Heart building and the Tudor House. The King Street Sycamore is the highest tree in the area.”

A further proposal is also being put forward for a Community Woodland Garden, on the land next to the Sycamore with disabled access and place for children and babies to play is. A heart shaped path through the silver birches and buddleias, sensitively managed to preserve the root system of the King Street Sycamore, would create a garden with a heart in the heart of Margate as part of the Nature Trail, which could link to the Tudor House Gardens and improve the overall ambiance to create a key tourist attraction.

The meeting will be advertised on social media; on The Margate Nature Trail Project Facebook page, and on their Instagram page @keepthekingmargate, and a Zoom link will be sent to all those who wish to attend, via messenger or WhatsApp, or people can also use the email address given to request a link to the meeting.

Key members of Thanet District Council, including new Leader Ash Ashbee, and local business owners have been invited to become involved with this project to find a way to take it forward.

Anyone who wishes to attend can use the email below for the Zoom link: [email protected]

7 Comments

  1. So basically a tour that takes you past the main day drinker/down and out areas of Margate. Literally drunks there all day, every day at all these locations. Should be named ‘The Addiction Safari’.

  2. What an absolute load of tree hugging rubbish! God help the George and heart … another Amelia run community projects! WAKE UP MARGATE THIS POISON… and she is moving out of Thanet

    • Well it’s about giving people an opportunity to reflect on the nature that has been lost over the centuries and more importantly that which we constantly losing today. This item is sonething very different that our kids and young people living in these communities could potentially take a slightly different view rather than to perpetuate a pub hugging, car driving – no regards to the pollution mindset. Which is the real poison

  3. The celebration of our little pockets of green in Thanet are welcome. If people have the vision, inclination, and dream to celebrate flora and fauna I say bring it on. Ironically, if you plant a tree everyone shows up, (especially councillors),… but save a mature tree from the ravages of greed/development, like The Duke tree which the council were complicit in felling from the start and only the sincerest show up. Any project which educates and brings children and people together in a tree starved town is a friend of mine. Well done……these are the people that really care about our green spaces. And look how some people berate it……..unbelievable.

  4. Absolutely fantastic idea! Nature is so Disregarded these days, and the areas being considered are beautiful in their own right.

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