Let your donation help us to conserve and enhance the South Downs for generations to come
The Friends of the South Downs was founded in 1923 to fight proposed development on the Downs. We are the only membership organisation dedicated to conserving and enhancing the beauty and amenities of the South Downs National Park.
We invite you to contribute to some of our projects aimed at improving access to and enjoyment of the landscape and preserving the South Downs for future generations.
If you would like to just make a donation in support of our work in general please scroll to the bottom on this page to see a number of options.
Benches
To help the weary walker on the South Downs Way, we are installing attractive wooden benches at convenient locations. At present there is very little provision along the whole 100 mile trail.
The benches are all individually designed to blend in with their location and made from English oak. They cost approximately £1000 each.
Please contribute £200, £100, or £25 to help install a bench.
Encourage children to appreciate the Downs
We are working with schools with children who don’t often visit the Downs to help them to appreciate the area. The two year project is mainly funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, but we need to contribute £10,000 to help pay for workshops in schools, field trips and teaching materials.
Please help pay for this valuable work, by contributing £500, £100 or £50.
Repair Footpaths
Footpaths can get in poor condition, especially in the winter. We recently contributed to the repair of the South Downs Way on Plumpton Plain.
To help pay for future repairs, please contribute £100, £50 or £20.
Miles without Stiles
In order to improve access to footpaths for people who can’t manage stiles we are financing the replacement of stiles with attractive wooden gates, which cost approximately £750 each. So far we have converted 33 stiles to gates. One popular path that has been opened up to stile-free walking is the path from Glynde railway station to Lewes, where in May walkers can see many orchids.
To help convert more stiles to gates, please contribute £200, £50 or £20.
Do you want to just make a donation?
Aside from the above projects we undertake many other activities for which we would welcome your support. Here are some options for you to choose from.
Thank you for your support.