Monkton Nature Reserve

Monkton Nature Reserve is a 16-acre site set inside an abandoned chalk quarry on the Isle of Thanet in East Kent. The reserve contains over 350 species of flowering plant including 8 species of orchid. 25 species of butterfly have been recorded, and innumerable other species of insect, mammal and bird-life. The reserve is home to the first artificial bat cave to be constructed in the UK. The bat cave, or Hibernaculum is normally only in use in the winter months.

There are two ponds inside the reserve, one of which is on the quarry floor and is a water-table pond with a fluctuating water level, while the other is a butyl-lined pond in a secluded location. A small bird hide overlooks this pond. Both ponds are regularly visited by grass snakes on hunting expeditions and are also good breeding sites for the Great Crested Newt. The water-table pond is used by a small number of the rare water vole.

The reserve contains a number of other features that include small young woodland, a 1:1 scale replica of a Bronze Age Barrow, chalk fossils, an Environmental Education Study Centre and an observatory. The reserve is splendid attraction and as well as containing nature and a serene environment, also contains educational information.