For as long as art has been around, artists have taken inspiration from the natural world... Photo of Pines Gardens taken by Kent-based artist, Dan Thompson. Dan is also the curator of our 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 exhibition, on display in Pines Café until October. 🌿

Spot the volunteer... 😁 🌱

Planning to visit us, but heard a rumour about road closures...? 🤔 Don't worry, the Bay Hill road closures only affect vehicles going to the beach and not the road which takes you to our gardens and café. In short - we are accessible as usual, and looking forward seeing you this weekend! 🌱

There's so much joy to be found in spotting butterflies this summer, and we can all be part of it. 🦋 Join the 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐥𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 17th July - 9th August, to celebrate our local wildlife and help us understand the health of our environment. Go to: bigbutterflycount.butterfly-conservation.org

On a day when, for @thebaytrust.bsky.social, I was due to meet local @nationaltrust.org.uk folk (to explore some “soft cooperation”) here’s a good @financialtimes.com piece with Sheila Das from NT talking on approaches I know we use at #ThePinesGarden. Heartening :-) www.ft.com/content/cfb7...

The National Trust’s Sheila Das: ‘We have to be OK with yellow grass’

The charity’s horticultural head has a mission to balance conservation and climate change. Can she bring everyone with her?

ft.com

We design our vegetable plots in The Pines Garden using permaculture principles like swales and Hugelkultur - working with the landscape so our produce thrives with minimal intervention. 🌱

I’m away from work this week but the @danthompson33.bsky.social blog on seaside towns features the #CrossChannel exhibition he’s curated at @thebaytrust.bsky.social #PinesGarden. From #Romans to the #Geopark - it’s open for the next few months :-) danthompsonstudio.substack.com/p/rich-and-s...

Rich and Strange

Worthing's seaside reinvention

danthompsonstudio.substack.com

A buzzard soars in the skies above The Pines Garden. Look up and you’ll often find the most amazing sights! Thank you so much to David Todd, regular visitor and fellow bird lover, for sharing these wonderful photos with us. 🦅📸

A little peak into our new 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 exhibition, now open in the Pines Garden Café, St Margarets Bay. Featuring contemporary work alongside pieces from our old museum collection, it explores the history of the English channel, not as a border, but as a passage of connection. Open Weds-Sun.

With UK swift numbers down by over 60%, protecting their habitat is more important than ever. Recently, our school workshops explored our migrating birds, teaching children what these travellers need when they arrive. It’s a gentle reminder that every safe patch of green helps wildlife thrive.🌿

Our wildflower meadows are blooming, and there's plenty of colour to enjoy this weekend. Pop into the Pines Garden for a quiet moment in nature. The Pines Garden and Café, Beach Road, St Margarets Bay. Open 10am – 4pm. Entry by donation. Dogs welcome on leads. 🌼🌱

Our garden team loved working alongside this volunteer team from Saga last week. The veg they helped nurture will soon find its way onto the menu at The Pines Café, so we are already looking forward to tasting the results of their hard work. Thank you, Saga, for your continued support and energy!

It's less than a 2 minute walk from our growing beds to the Pines Garden Café. Veg doesn't get much fresher than this...

Was fortunate to attend #RHSChelsea today and impressed, as we produce and use it at @thebaytrust.bsky.social #PinesGarden, that #biochar is also an “ingredient” in the @asthmaandlung.org.uk Breathing Space garden (which will be relocating to #Rotherham in due course.) One show highlight for me.

Asthma + Lung UK @asthmaandlung.org.uk · 3mo ago

It's voting time! Don’t miss your chance to vote for our Breathing Space garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026, under the category People’s Choice Best Show Garden. You vote can help us change and improve the lives of people living with lung conditions. Vote here: www.rhs.org.uk/.../award......

There's been no shortage of sunshine for our volunteers in the Pines Garden lately! Luckily for our us, the Garden Café is always on hand with cool drinks and sweet treats. 🧁🥛 Want to know more about volunteering with us? Email volunteers@baytust.org.uk

Our work in environmental education has taught us that the best way to learn is through an active imagination. 🌱✨ That’s why, over the last few weeks, we’ve been using creativity and play to inspire local school children to discover more about the migrating birds so vital to our landscapes. 🕊️🌾

Last week we celebrated World Bee Day 🐝 We're supporting pollinators in our garden by creating wildflower mini-meadows. In recent years, we've grown several of these pollinator havens, encouraging a beautiful and ever-changing mix of seasonal wildflowers throughout the garden. 🌱🌼

Head to Pines Garden this week to help us choose the winner of the Pines Community Initiative! Vote for your favourite idea at our voting box in The Pines Garden Café. The project with the most votes wins, and gets to turn their idea into a reality... 🌱

Last autumn, our garden team prepped the #GenerationRestoration mini-meadow area by mulching with waste wood chip. This space in Pines Garden is specifically designed to model how simple, regenerative actions can be adapted for any garden. Next step: sowing a wildflower mini meadow! 🐝🌱🌸

🐝 World Bee Day: A Call to Action 🌱 Let’s work together to ensure a future where bees can flourish. Here's how you can help: 🌼 Plant bee-friendly flowers in your garden. 🌼 Avoid using pesticides. 🌼 Support local environmental charities like ours.

For the love of birds... 🦉 We recently enjoyed a second educational visit from local school pupils, once again inspired by birds but this time we focused on creativity and modelling. We are proud to continue our legacy of inspiring the next generation to care for our planet.

We are thrilled to reveal the three shortlisted finalists for The Pines Community Initiative: Transition Dover, Rhia English Forest Therapy, and Parent Pathway. 𝐍𝐨𝐰, 𝐰𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩! We invite you to visit the Pines Café and cast your vote for the project you believe deserves support. 🗳️

At the Pines Garden and Café, there are three things that make our day-to-day life better: good people, good food and good work supporting our beautiful environment. And here we have all three! A huge thank you to our dedicated staff and volunteers for their hard work in the sunny hugelkultur 🌱☀️🥕

Our new mini-meadows are coming along nicely this year! 🌱🌼🌺 With very little effort - just a little time - these small patches are transforming into a thriving, humming, floral haven for pollinators - happy bees, & small mammals - and a feast for our eyes! Watch this space... 👀🌼 #wildflowers

Spotted in the Pines Garden: a lizard sunning itself on our compost heap! 🦎 Spring is the perfect time to spot these little critters as they emerge from hibernation.

Following our incredible workshop last week, here are a few of the wonderful bird drawings created by the children! Seeing their imagination bring our local migrating species to life was a highlight for our team. 🎨🐦 And there's a lot of character coming through in their drawings!

Inspiring the next generation of Bird Lovers in The Pines Garden with the help of ornithologist , Jamie Partridge. We learned about migrating species crossing the Dover Straits and the vital role our garden and lake could play in supporting them. 🐦🌿

Next time you sit at our new garden tables, you’re supporting local creativity. ♻️🪑 Crafted from cable reels sourced from Dover Beacon (a new arts centre in Dover), these tables prove that everything we need is already around us. A small act of upcycling, a big connection 🌱

Next week we'll be moving onto our Summer menu, but not before offering one final Sunday roast for you to enjoy in the unique setting of the Pines Garden Café, St Margaret's Bay. We'd love to see you there! Booking advised - call us: ☎️ 01304 853173 GF & vegan options, dog friendly 🐶

At The Bay Trust, we’re lucky to be surrounded by unique landscapes steeped in history - and the best way to respect that is to maintain and make the most of what we already have.