The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups across East Sussex.
- Backpack-wearing dogs enlisted to rewild urban nature reserve in Lewes, theguardian.com (Jul 26, 2024)
- ‘Give nature space and it will come back’: rewilding returns endangered species to UK’s south coast, theguardian.com (Jun 27, 2024)
Networks and sustainability initiatives[edit | edit source]
- Green Transition Crowborough, community organisation promoting local action to address climate change and encourage sustainability. added 08:08, 29 April 2024 (UTC)
- Seaford Environmental Alliance, added 17:45, 23 June 2021 (UTC)
- Common Treasury of Adaptable Ideas, commontreasury.org.uk, Hastings, added 17:54, 11 February 2021 (UTC)
- Transition Town Hastings, Community garden, Sustainability on Sea festival, Sustainability on Sea (SOS) 2019, added 16:40, 22 July 2020 (UTC)
- Lewes 2030, a project involving Transition Town Lewes and starting September 2015
- Transition Rye
- Transition Town Lewes
- Village Connections, based around Lewes and surrounding villages
Community resources[edit | edit source]
- Hastings Commons, "take derelict and difficult buildings around the White Rock area of Hastings into community custody, transforming them into social spaces, homes and workspaces that will always be affordable and open to all." added 16:37, 26 September 2023 (UTC)
- East Sussex Community Information Service
- Tablehurst and Plaw Hatch Community Farm, Community landtrust
Climate action[edit | edit source]
- Lewes Climate Hub, "not-for-profit alliance of community groups in and around Lewes in East Sussex, taking action on climate change and ecological breakdown." added 15:24, 10 May 2021 (UTC)
Extinction Rebellion Hastings & St Leonards
Climate emergency centres[edit | edit source]
- Seaford Environmental Alliance, added 17:45, 23 June 2021 (UTC)
Ecosystem retoration[edit | edit source]
- Sussex Bay, vision: "100 miles of coastline where our seascape and rivers flourish. A healthy blue ecosystem in which nature, people and local economy can thrive." Video: Sussex Bay - official channel on youtube.com
Biodiversity[edit | edit source]
Sussex Wildlife Trust[edit | edit source]
The Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) is a conservation charity which aims to protect natural life in Sussex. It was founded in 1961 and is one of 46 wildlife trusts across the UK and the Isle of Man and Alderney. As of 2024, it had 38,000 members and manages 2,000 hectares (5,000 acres) of land for nature. It is a registered charity and in the year to 31 March 2019 it had an income of £5.7 million and expenditure of £4 million, resulting in net income of £1.7 million.
The SWT manages twenty-six nature reserves in the county. Nineteen are Sites of Special Scientific Interest, one is a national nature reserve, eleven are local nature reserves, eight are Special Areas of Conservation, three are Special Protection Areas, three are Ramsar sites and seven are Nature Conservation Review sites. Its headquarters at Woods Mill, south of Henfield, is also a nature reserve with a lake, woodland and meadows.
The historic county of Sussex is divided into the administrative counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. The South Downs stretches across the county from west to east. This area is chalk and to the north is the Weald, which is composed of heavy clays and sand. The coast has a succession of holiday towns such as Brighton, Eastbourne, Bognor Regis and Worthing.
Other initiatives[edit | edit source]
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve - Sussex Wetland Landscapes Project -
Open spaces[edit | edit source]
The South Downs National Park is England's newest national park, designated on 31 March 2010. The park, covering an area of 1,627 square kilometres (628 sq mi) in southern England, stretches for 140 kilometres (87 mi) from Winchester in the west to Eastbourne in the east through the counties of Hampshire, West Sussex and East Sussex. The national park covers the chalk hills of the South Downs (which on the English Channel coast form the white cliffs of the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head) and a substantial part of a separate physiographic region, the western Weald, with its heavily wooded sandstone and clay hills and vales. The South Downs Way spans the entire length of the park and is the only National Trail that lies wholly within a national park.
Coastal community activism[edit | edit source]
- Wild Coast Sussex, sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/
- Sussex Kelp Restoration Project, sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk
Community involvement[edit | edit source]
Democracy4Bexhill, Campaigning for a town council added 18:00, 10 March 2020 (UTC)
Community currencies activism[edit | edit source]
Community energy[edit | edit source]
OVESCo, set up in 2007 by four people who meet through the Transition Town Lewes Energy Group. OVESCo has run the Lewes District Council renewables grant scheme since September 2007 and helped over one hundred homes install solar thermal panels, wood burning stoves, GSHP's, biomass boilers and PV panels. The company is working to convert to an Industrial and Provident Society so that the Lewes District Community can invest in renewable power generation projects. W
Food activism[edit | edit source]
Pevensey & Westham Community Forest Garden, pawforestgarden.co.uk, local people growing food in a sustainable way that allows wildlife to flourish too. Volunteers have created clearings for beehives, planted many fruit and nut trees, created a herb garden, built a wildlife pond, and run community workshops. added 17:09, 21 October 2021 (UTC)
Housing and land[edit | edit source]
- Sussex Community Housing Hub, established to provide essential support for communities across Sussex wishing to pursue successful community led housing projects. 'added 16:18, 17 December 2021 (UTC)
See also: Towards a more democratic and climate friendly way of meeting housing need across England, Housing UK news
Reduce, reuse, repair and recycle[edit | edit source]
- Seaford Repair Cafe, added 16:58, 13 October 2021 (UTC)
Sustainable transport activism[edit | edit source]
Among the long-distance footpaths in East Sussex are the South Downs Way; 1066 Country Walk, High Weald Landscape Trail, Saxon Shore Way, Sussex Border Path, Sussex Ouse Valley Way, Vanguard Way, Wealdway and The Monarch's Way. W
Recreational walks in East Sussex W, listing
News and comment[edit | edit source]
2023
- Kent and Sussex hosepipe ban announced amid water shortage, BBC News (Jun 19, 2023)
- The ‘lost’ underwater forests that came back from the dead, positive.news (Jun 06, 2023)
- Something radical is happening in Hastings. It might just tell us how to solve Britain’s empty homes problem, bigissue.com (Mar 03, 2023)
2022
- Hosepipe ban announced for Kent and Sussex, BBC News (Aug 03, 2022)
- How Sussex farmers plan to rewild a nature-rich green corridor to the sea, The Guardian (Jul 22, 2022)
- Appeal for water customers to be mindful when turning on the tap, southeastwater.co.uk (Jul 11, 2022) — South East Water is asking people to be mindful of the amount of water they are using as hot temperatures push up demand beyond levels expected for the time of year. Water latest, southeastwater.co.uk
About East Sussex[edit | edit source]
East Sussex is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement is the city of Brighton and Hove, and the county town is Lewes.
The county has an area of 1,792 km2 (692 sq mi) and a population of 822,947. The latter is largely concentrated along the coast, where the largest settlements are located: Brighton and Hove (277,105), Eastbourne (99,180), and Hastings (91,490). The centre and north of the county are largely rural, and the largest settlement is Crowborough (21,990). For local government purposes, East Sussex comprises a non-metropolitan county, with five districts, and the unitary authority of Brighton and Hove. East Sussex and West Sussex historically formed a single county, Sussex.
The north-east of East Sussex is part of the Weald, a sandstone anticline that was once an extensive woodland. The highest point in this area is Crowborough Hill (242 m (794 ft)), part of the High Weald uplands. The south-west of the county is part of the South Downs, a rolling chalk escarpment that stretches west into West Sussex and Hampshire. Ditchling Beacon (248 m (814 ft)) is the highest point. Where the downs reach the sea, they form high cliffs such as the Seven Sisters, where eroded dry valleys create an undulating skyline. The county does not contain large rivers, but its largest are the Rother, which forms part of the boundary with Kent, the Cuckmere, and the Ouse, which rises in West Sussex and flows through Lewes before reaching the English Channel at Newhaven.
Near you[edit | edit source]
Brighton community action - Eastbourne community action