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WORK AND PLAY
IN YOUR NATIONAL PARK
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PICTURE OF THE
MONTH: The bluebell
woods of the National Park are springing to life! This
beauty was captured by Emma Varley. Here's a list of some of the best bluebell woods and remember to
stick to the path to admire them!
If you have an amazing seasonal image, please do email us.
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Big boost for nature as grants
announced
Creating
new havens for butterflies and barn owls, establishing
new wetlands and saving the
under-threat juniper tree are among the exciting projects
to benefit from a funding boost of over £130,000.
Thirteen community-led projects across Hampshire and Sussex will be
receiving a ReNature grant from the South Downs National Park Trust to
help restore biodiversity
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Uncovering a valley's hidden past
Carbon
dating has revealed that humans have been living in one corner of the
South Downs for well over 3,000 years.
The Meon Valley Archaeology and Heritage Group has uncovered a series of
incredible finds near the River
Meon, in Hampshire. Find out more here.
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Where will art take you this spring?
The popular Sussex Art Shuttle returns this spring
and will again link Towner Eastbourne, Charleston in Firle, Seven
Sisters Country Park and Charleston’s arts space in central Lewes, where
a fantastic season of new exhibitions opens to coincide. Route 39 will
run with four services a day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday until 27
October.
You can hop on for a single journey for just £2 or hop on and off for a
day for £3.50! Find out more here.
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Heath
basking for mental health
We've
all heard of forest bathing, but have you tried heathland basking
to find your inner zen?
Find out more here!
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Can you help shape the National Park?
Are
you interested in helping to shape the future direction of the South
Downs National Park?
The
National Park Authority is striving to bring the voices of communities,
sectors or groups whose voices are not often heard into our
discussions.
Learn more here.
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Admire views from a safe distance
Visitors
to the National Park’s stunning coastline are being urged to stay safe
after two
significant cliff collapses in the space of just two
weeks.
Learn more.
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Last chance to enter Design Awards!
The
clock is counting down to the deadline for nominations for the 2024 South Downs Design Awards.
With
just a few weeks to go until the closing date, people are being urged to get their nominations in for
planning projects that showcase outstanding and innovative design and
architecture in the National Park.
Find out more and make a nomination.
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Happy 14th birthday!
The
dream of many became a working reality when 1,600km2 of
England’s most-cherished lowland landscape was designated for the nation
as a special place for natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage.
Fourteen
years on it’s still as special.
As we mark the 14th birthday of your
National Park, we look at 14 success stories for the UK’s youngest
National Park. Learn more here.
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Give big to help create more hedges for nature
Exciting news! South
Downs Trust has been accepted on to the Big Give Green Match Fund again
this year, which means that between 18-25 April, anything you give to
us will be doubled!
We’re aiming to raise a whopping £10,000 in just one week and plan to use
these funds for our Hedgehomes initiative - planting and maintaining our
hedgerow network for nature to live and thrive.
To get involved please keep an eye on the South Downs Trust website and social
channels.
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Win family pass to The D-Day Story museum!
Did you
know this year marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings?
The South Downs and
surrounding area have many connections to what was to be the decisive
campaign of the Second World War. Some of the better-known
locations are the embarkation points where troops boarded the ships and
landing craft that would take them to Normandy, such as Portsmouth and
Shoreham. Those troops had previously been waiting at “Marshalling Area”
camps that were slightly inland, either within or close to the National
Park boundary.
Most of these camps
were concealed within woodland some distance from towns and cities, to
hide them from spies or enemy reconnaissance aircraft.
Earlier in the war,
many of those troops had been based in what is now the National Park. A
significant proportion of the British, Canadian, American and other
Allied troops who landed in Normandy on or after D-Day had not previously
been in action. They had spent months, sometimes even years, training and
preparing for battle. The South Downs offered many suitable spaces for
carrying out such training exercises.
To mark the
anniversary, we’ve teamed up with TheD-Day Story
Museum in Southsea to offer a family ticket.
The museum is home
to Landing Craft Tank 7074, the last surviving LCT which carried up to
ten tanks on D-Day.
There will be an
extensive events and activities throughout 2024 to commemorate the 80th
anniversary including talks, livestreams, and tours. Visit www.theddaystory.com/events.
A national commemoration
takes place in Portsmouth on 5 June.
People signing up to
the newsletter during April will be automatically entered into the draw.
Those who are already signed up can email “Operation Neptune” to newsletter@southdowns.gov.uk before
midnight on 30 April. Sign up to the newsletter here
and see competition T&Cs here.
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Meet Georgina Aboud, a writer from Eastbourne. In a new
series of films and recordings called "Voices", we're sharing
people's thoughts on the South Downs National Park and their connection
to this amazing landscape.
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Things to do in April
Find other events and activities
across the National Park and submit your own. Please remember
booking may be necessary and do check full details with the venue.
- Are you aged 16-25 and want to make a
difference for nature and the environment? Join the National
Park team for a Youth Action Day on 10 April.
We meet at Lewes Railway Station
and walk 10 minutes to the Lewes Railway Land Trust nature
reserve. During the afternoon, we will be using iNaturalist,
which is a recording app for nature enthusiasts. You don’t need
to be an expert in identification, just interested! The app is a
great way to help you learn about nature if you are just
starting out and a great way of helping us identify key species
in the South Downs National Park. This event is part of a
world-wide, annual event called the City
Nature Challenge.
- A new series of creative study walks are
taking place this spring, exploring the history,
geology and archaeological landscape at Beachy
Head, near Eastbourne. The first in the monthly trio of walks
kicks off in April, while in May, monthly creative writing
workshops also make a welcome return.
- The Fossils, Flags and Ancient Features
on Beachy Head series begins with a Cow Gap,
Gideon and Mrs Mantell: Fossils & Feminism walk on Monday 15
April. Gideon Mantell was a palaeontologist, and his wife Mary a
fossil collector and scientific illustrator, who is credited
with discovering the first evidence of an Iguanodon in
Sussex. On Monday 20 May, the second creative study walk,
entitled Communications from the Headland: Signallers and
Structures, will investigate two centuries of communications
archaeology on the headland, while working out how to identify
the physical structural remains on the ground. Book tickets here.
- Discover the Eggcellent Adventure Trail at
Seven Sisters Country Park, near Seaford. Pick up an activity
sheet from the visitor centre and follow the clues to track down
wildlife species. There’s a small chocolate
for finishing! The trail is open until 12 April
- Did you know that the swallow flies back to
the UK in April and the 15th is traditionally known as Swallow
Day in England? A swallow-themed walk will take
place from Langham Brewery, West Sussex, on 13 April.
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Copyright 2024 South Downs National Park Authority. All
rights reserved.
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