South Downs Trust

Leaving presentation for Dean Orgill

Last month we bade a fond farewell to Dean Orgill, former Chair of Trustees of South Downs Trust after more than seven years in the role. He was presented with a beautiful wooden contour box made by Tom Aylwin.

Tree Planting - Hail, Hedges and Help!

The National Park's Eastern Area Ranger team recently gathered a team of extraordinary volunteers to plant over two thousand native saplings as part of our Trees for the Downs initiative.

Image shows pulborough brooks wetland in july 2025

Celebrating A Year of the Downs to the Sea Project

It’s been quite a year for the Downs to The Sea project as we’ve hit a number of key milestones in our exciting endeavours to restore precious wetlands.

an image showing people looking up into the tree canopy above them.

We did it! Triumph for nature as National Park hits tree-planting target

The South Downs National Park has smashed its target of planting 100,000 trees by the middle of this decade and has now set its sights on planting at least one million more.

Children enjoying a school trip at Seven Sisters Country Park thanks to the Outdoor Travel Grant from South Downs Trust

Thousands of children benefit from Outdoor Learning Grant

More than 7,500 children have been able to enjoy the wonders of the natural world and experience incredible landscapes, thanks to two much-needed grants schemes.

image of a dew pond at magdalen hill down reserve near Winchester. There are yellow flowers and vegetation growing at the pond edges and a fence in the background.

The power of ponds to help nature flourish once again

Eleven much-needed wildlife ponds will be created across the South Downs National Park to help nature bounce back, thanks to a £75,000 funding boost.

image showing the river Rother at Midhurst with the Cowdray ruins in the background and a person walking on the riverside near the bridge.

Citizen science monitoring sewage spills

The Sustainable Communities Fund (SCF) has awarded more than £3,000 to Eco Rother Action for a project to monitor sewage spills on the river Rother between Midhurst and Petersfield.

two children climbing and playing on one of the old yew trees at Kingley Vale NNR

Training local teachers to become outdoor leaders

The Sustainable Community Fund (SCF) has awarded just over £4,600 to Chichester Forest School, a community interest company, to run a series of training days at Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve.

image showing several volunteers learning to box bale a hay meadow in Winchester

More Magnificent Meadows!

Two recent grants given by the South Downs Trust have had a big impact on effective meadow management in the Winchester area, offering free training to locals to learn the art of scything.

aerial image of the river Ouse and valley in East Sussex.

Help support the Ouse Valley Climate Action - Community Pitch

People are being invited to rally round to support a range of initiatives that could help the environment and reduce carbon footprint in the Ouse Valley.

News

Newsletter signup