Since the South Downs Trust was formed in late 2017, our achievements have been many and varied.
This short film highlights some of the impacts we have made in enhancing your South Downs.
How your donations can help us to ReNature the South Downs
This inspiring film shows how a single large donation can have a huge impact when teamed with a willing landowner and advice from the National Park.
Pen Hill near Harting Down is a 15Ha former chalk grassland site which has been farmed as arable for generations. The landowner wanted to restore it back to downland, and after careful planning and advice gained from National Park rangers and officers the transformation is starting to take place. Funding came via the South Downs Trust, including a large individual donation.
After preparation on the ground, grass and wildflower sowing took place during 2023, and the results have been astonishing, turning what was once a large, ploughed field into a colourful scene of pollinator friendly plants. The site is now well on its way to being restored to a valuable habitat of species-rich chalk grassland in the National Park and will need careful ongoing management for this nature restoration to continue.
More inspiration
We are keen to bring more woodland back to the Downs, but it is important to plant the right tree in the right place.
Watch this short film about tree planting, which has occurred as part of our Trees for the Downs initiative, at Wild Heart Hill near Worthing in the South Downs. Connecting people to nature and encouraging them to protect – Connect to Protect.
More about Trees for the Down.
Another example of ReNature activity
Watch this short film about a dormant plot at Southerham Lane in Lewes. Owner Gavin Williams approached the National Park to convert the field into a haven for pollinators, as part of our Beelines initiative.
The result is something really very special.