Tag: South Downs for All

Posted on by

Our Youngest Downlanders

“It is rather wonderful that some of our youngest downlanders have been able to celebrate the Centenary of the Friends of the South Downs, by marking out ‘100’ on the greensward of the Downs. Bury School, nestling, as it does in the heart of the South Downs, has worked with FSD on two of our schools’ projects and are now taking part in our latest educational project called South Downs for All. Only last month, I accompanied some of the Year 5 and Year 6 children on an eight-mile walk over the downs from Slindon to Bury. A great school with a real commitment to sharing the joy of the South Downs with all their pupils.” Chris Hare, Project Manager

bury school friends of the south downs south downs for all

Our latest educational project, South Downs for All, is a programme aimed at bringing together eight South Down schools and the FSD to enable more children to enjoy the South Downs and learn about the heritage of this wonderful landscape. Chris Hare is also project manager of South Downs Generations, a unique partnership between FSD and four West Sussex Primary schools. That project brings together young and old to explore our common downland heritage.

Year 5 and 6 children at Bury School proved their downland credentials by walking from Slindon to Bury, a distance of some 12 km. The day was perfect – warm but not too warm.

We walked by Slindon Folly on Nore Hill, built for the Countess of Newburgh over 200 years ago, and trod the route Roman soldiers took 2,000 years ago along a surviving stretch of Roman road at Stane Street, that once led all the way from Chichester to London.

There were plenty of stops, including one at Bignor Hill, where the fingerpost points to destinations written in the original Latin.

Finally, we descended Bignor Hill and came across a bubbling stream, fed from a spring in the Downs. On returning to Bury School at just after 3:00pm, all the party – adults, as well as our youngest downlanders, were pleased to rest weary feet and limbs. But all agreed: it had been a great day.

bury school south downs for all our youngest downlanders
Posted on by

A Year in the Life of the South Downs

The Friends of the South Downs are appealing to young people in Sussex and Hampshire to write about the South Downs, either as a short essay or a poem. Chris Hare, project manager for ‘South Downs for All,’ a project funded jointly by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Friends of the South Downs, aimed at teaching school students about the heritage of the South Downs, is currently working on a lavish picture book, A Year in the Life of the South Downs, that will show the landscape in all its different forms and moods over a twelve month period.

a year in the life of the south downs
Chris at Cissbury Ring

As Chris explains: “We photographed the downland landscape under the influence of the four seasons, from snow dusted hill tops, through bluebell woods in spring, to summer wheat fields and the red and golden leaves of autumn. We also photographed human activity across the year, such as the World Marbles Championship at Tinsley Green at Easter, to Lewes Bonfire celebrations in November. We have the photographs, all we need now are the words!”

As ‘South Downs for All’ is focused on working with schools, the project team felt that it is the children who should provide the words for A Year in the Life of the South Downs, rather than being written by Chris or other adults working in the field of heritage.

“I could write about the history of the downs for A Year in the Life of the South Downs and the traditional activities that take place there,” Chris explains, “as could many other South Downs authors, but the children are our future and they will be custodians of this wonderful landscape in the years ahead, so we want to know what the feel and respond to the South Downs – landscape and people.

Sheep Fair

Chris says that they are primarily looking at responses from children aged 8 – 12, but they will consider submissions from any school-aged children. Essays and poems should be no longer than 300 words and can be on any theme that has a South Downs connection. To help inspire young writers, the South Downs for All website has a gallery section of photographs, set out under seasonal headings. It is hoped that looking at these photographs will act as a prompt to imaginative thoughts.

Any young person whose work is included in the book will be fully acknowledged, including their name and town or village of residence. They will also receive two free copies of the colour, hard-backed book and an invitation to the launch event which will probably take place in late November this this year.

The photograph gallery can be found here

All entries should be submitted to Chris Hare by 31 May 2023 at chris.hare@friendsofthesouthdowns.org.uk All enquiries about the project should be mailed to Chris at the same email address.