SDNPA/A.K.Purkiss

Bringing new life and meaning to nature through power of words

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The amazing butterflies, bats, birds and bees of the South Downs National Park are the focus of a new thought-provoking digital exhibition of poetry, stories, film and spoken words.

Species Stories is a fascinating creative exploration of the National Park’s most recognisable wildlife, bringing to life people’s reflections, feelings and imaginations. The collection has been produced by talented writers and artists from Black and ethnically diverse backgrounds, as well as children and young people from across the National Park. The free exhibition has been produced in partnership with Brighton-based arts and heritage organisation Writing Our Legacy, the South Downs National Park Trust and the Foyle Foundation. Read more

Picture of detail on the new mural GS Creative Photography

New youth project highlights care for local ecology in Westergate

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Students from Ormiston Six Village Academy have unveiled a massive (40m) new mural along with dynamic new signs for local bins, as part of a project they have designed to increase respect for the natural world in their area.

Developed with input from the whole school community, the project supported a number of students in Years 8 – 10 to work with two commissioned artists – selected by them – to create art interventions in the school’s local Westergate village intended to inspire greater respect for the natural world locally. Read more

Donations set to double in national campaign

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Following a competitive application process, Sussex Green Living has been selected to take part in the Big Give Earth Raise—a national match-funding campaign launching on Earth Day 22 April. 

From noon Wednesday 22 April to noon Wednesday 29 April every donation made through the campaign will be matched, meaning a £50 donation becomes £100 to support the charity’s work across Sussex. 

Run by Big Give, the campaign brings together philanthropists, foundations, and businesses to match public donations. Over the years, Big Give has raised approximately £427 million for thousands of charities. NOTE: 30th April – WE ACHIEVED OUR TARGET!

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Slow travel: Explore the gems on our doorstep this Bank Holiday

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Portfolio Items

With bank holiday weekends coming up in April and May, this spring offers the perfect opportunity to rediscover what’s right on our doorstep – and to think a little differently about how we travel. Many of us will already have booked our summer holidays, but there’s growing pressure on airlines to be more transparent about the true environmental cost of flying. 

From April 2027, airlines and travel agents will be required to display clear, standardised emissions figures at the point of booking, giving passengers the information they need to weigh up the environmental cost of their journey.  

The news was welcomed by environment group CAGNE, which had been campaigning on the issue for over a decade. But a spokesperson said the warnings should be similar to those on cigarette packets – warning of the risks to the health of the planet – adding that people should have all the information so ‘they can then seek greener forms of transport whether that be a different airline or travel by train or not to fly’. 

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Sussex Green Living

Collaboration for Nature: Charity and Business Partnership Creates Outdoor Learning Space at Thakeham Primary School

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As part of their action for World Climate Day on 23rd March, Sussex Green Living partnered in a brand-new way with local business to extend regional nature recovery efforts. Last week proved to be a very exciting time for Thakeham Primary School, as pupils became the proud recipients of a brand-new outdoor learning area thanks to a collaboration between Sussex Green Living, local business Mountjoy, and a network of community partners working together for nature.   

The project forms part of Sussex Green Living’s Pollination Education Station (PES) Trail, an initiative designed to improve food security, support pollinators and provide accessible environmental education. The trail is supported by the charity’s Green Business Network, which enables businesses to work alongside the charity, educate their staff about sustainability and use corporate volunteering days to take meaningful action for climate and nature.  Read more

Arundel wetlands Centre – Communicating the Message of Nature

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Darren Cool – 07792308722 – www.dcoolimages.com

“The most effective way to save the threatened and decimated natural world is to cause people to fall in love with it again-with its beauty and its reality” This was the vision of Sir Peter Scott, the tireless broadcaster and naturalist who established the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. We visited the WWT’s Arundel Wetland Centre in the year of its 50th anniversary, the WWT’s 80th, just before World Wetlands Day on 2 February, to investigate his legacy.  

We started our morning by meeting Marketing and Communications Manager Pat Warren and Reserve manager Suzi Lanaway in the impressive Visitors Centre. It’s a bright open space with huge picture windows looking out over a large lake bustling with all kinds of water birds such as geese, ducks and teals. As we sipped our coffee and talked, we couldn’t fail to notice the occasional blue flash of a kingfisher darting to the water a few feet from where we sat.  Read more

Stress Awareness Week: finding balance through everyday choices 

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As Stress Awareness Week (3 to 7 November) begins, Sussex Green Living says concern about the environment is becoming part of the pressure many people feel in daily life. 

Many worry about our changing weather, plastic pollution, air quality and the loss of biodiversity. These concerns have become part of the background to modern living, adding to the usual stresses of work, family and finances. For some, it can feel as though the problems are too big to change. 

Sussex Green Living (SGL), a registered UK charity working with schools, community groups and businesses across West Sussex, believes that practical, positive action can make a difference. The organisation helps people find balance through small steps that connect personal wellbeing with care for the planet, from spending more time in nature and noticing wildlife in local green spaces to reducing waste or making conscious choices about what and where we buy our food. 

 

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Children’s Gardening Week, butterflies and beautiful salads

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24 May – 1 June 2025
 www.childrensgardeningweek.co.uk
 www.plantlife.org.uk/campaigns/nomowmay

Children’s Gardening Week arrives as May gives way to June, when the garden has found its stride and everything is stretching into summer. It often falls during half term, which makes it the perfect time to step outside and share the garden with the children in our lives. For those taking part in No Mow May, this is when the garden starts to look wilder, the grasses taller, and flowers that were once called weeds begin to feel like gifts. Buttercups, oxeye daisies and self-heal creep through the lawn, and the air starts to hum with insect life again.

It is a moment for noticing. Children are naturally tuned into the small things we often overlook. A curled leaf can hold a hidden insect, and a dandelion seedhead might spark a whole conversation. Being in the garden together does not need to be structured. A slow walk, time spent watching one flower, or simply lying on the grass and listening can lead to all sorts of shared discoveries. Read more

Exciting new family friendly event in Horsham

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Growing together – Food – Fun – Family – Free

From 10am-4pm on Saturday 26th April, Horsham will come alive to celebrate green living in Sussex – perfect for mums, dads, and little ones alike. It’s a day packed with local food, expert talks and eco-friendly fun that will inspire you and your family to live more sustainably. Spread across four unique venues in central Horsham, come along for a day of free goodies, family-friendly activities, and caring community vibes at the Plant to Plate Festival! Read more

Recycling competition – plastic food storage containers and lids

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WILLIAM PENN PRIMARY SCHOOL ASKS THE HORSHAM COMMUNITY TO HELP THEM IN THEIR EFFORTS IN A NATIONWIDE CONTEST TO WIN A PLAYGROUND WITH A FRAME MADE OF 100% RECYCLED MATERIALS 

Residents of Horsham and surrounding areas can help William Penn Primary School to win a playground with a frame made of 100% recycled materials – including recycled plastic food storage containers and lids, as well as reusable plastic water bottles and caps by bringing this used waste to the school’s public collection point 

The Sistema® Recycled Playground Contest is running from 12th September until 18th December 2024 and the school that collects the most amount of plastic food storage containers and lids, as well as reusable plastic water bottles and caps, in that time will be crowned the winner . Read more