Storrington’s new Stork Mural Needs Our Fundraising Support
A major new street artwork is coming, and you can be a part of it! This exciting project now has the go-ahead with full planning permission. We seek to raise £3,500 over the next two months to cover the costs of a stork mural and interpretation board at Place Villerest. An ambitious target, but with
Boxing Season on the South Downs
Walks Leader and Trustee David Taylor recently led an early morning walk on the South Downs looking for Brown Hares. The Norfolk Estate above Storrington and Amberley is a hotspot for hare activity and the day did not disappoint. Being crepuscular, hares are most busy around dawn and dusk, particularly during their peak breeding season
Walking the Petworth Way
We hear from Ian, walks leader, on his reflections on recently completing the Petworth Way LDW with several other FSD members this March. “The Walks Programme occasionally ventures beyond its familiar circular format for something more ambitious: a multi-day linear walk from one point to another. These take a bit more organising (shuttling cars, booking
Clean Water Now: Environmental groups launch major new campaign ahead of Water Reform Bill
New report urges Government to stop pollution at source, fix the broken water system, and restore nature to England’s rivers, lakes and seas in next generation water reforms A major coalition of environmental organisations have launched Clean Water Now, a new report setting out the urgent reforms needed in the upcoming Water Reform Bill. Currently,
Coalition calls for Protected Landscapes to benefit from visitor levy
Campaign for National Parks has joined forces with protected landscapes bodies, leading environmental charities and conservation societies to call on Government to ensure any visitor levy properly supports National Parks and National Landscapes. The Government announced plans in November 2025 to bring forward an overnight accommodation levy for Mayoral Authorities, and a consultation on the
Where Cattle Calmly Graze
How we are supporting Sussex Wildlife Trust with essential conservation at Ebernoe Wildlands Nature Reserve. Ebernoe Wildlands Nature Reserve features one of the richest woodlands for wildlife in the South East. It is a matrix of dense woodland, sunny rides, open glades, and scrubby edges. Barbastelle and Bechstein’s bats, the rarest bats in Europe, make
Truleigh Hill
Trustee David Taylor recently led a guided walk around Truleigh Hill near Shoreham. During a coffee break, David spoke about RAF Truleigh Hill’s role as a radar site during WW2 and the early years of the Cold War. Sitting at over 700 feet above sea level, Truleigh Hill became operational in July 1940, right at
St Catherine’s Hill Nature Reserve
Something New in Hampshire Friends of the South Downs have recently funded the installation of replacement gates on the St Catherine’s Hill Nature Reserve, a beautiful chalk downland hill a mile or so south of Winchester. The Nature Reserve covers 47 hectares and is managed by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust. High on
Stepping Out Smart by Avoiding Ticks
As the weather warms up, many of us look forward to spending more time walking and hiking on trails and in parks. However, a tiny menace awaits—Ixodes Ricinus, the blacklegged tick. Also known as the Deer Tick, these crafty parasites cling to vegetation waiting to latch onto passing animals or people, looking for a meal
The Richard Reed Award
The second of the Centenary prizes for academic work at Brighton University was awarded Thursday 5 October 2023 to Dom Jarvis, a Geography student, just starting his third and final year. Chairman David Sawyer and Paul Wilkinson were at Brighton University to present the Richard Reed Award, a newly created award, for most improved performance by
