Working with others to restore Wilder landscapes
Annual Report of the Wilder Landscapes Project April 2019 – March 2020
F Southgate
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Contents
Introduction 2
Summary of Project Achievements 2019 - 2020 3
Our Work Advising Landowners 4
Catchment & Landscape Scale Work 7
Policy Work & Strategic Advice 19
Linking People and Landscapes 20
Our Volunteers 26
Finance and Fundraising 27
Appendix 30
1 Introduction
Sussex Wildlife Trust’s (SWT) Wilder Landscapes project supports local communities to restore wildlife-rich landscapes and the essential natural services that we all need for health and wellbeing. We help to deliver Nature Recover Networks, Natural Flood Management, Climate resilience and Wilding as well as caring for Sussex Wildlife Trust Nature Reserves, and supporting a multitude of other landowners, stakeholders and projects across Sussex. Our Wilder Landscapes projects have been delivering landscape scale conservation for over 19 years. We have also been running an innovative Natural Flood Management project, Sussex Flow Initiative, for over 8 years.
With Climate change and biodiversity loss two of the biggest natural crises that we have faced in recorded history, now is the time to take as much positive and practical action that we can. Neither people, nor wildlife can survive without the essential services that our countryside provides including water purification, flood storage, carbon storage, food provision, access to nature health benefits, pollination services and more. We focus on creating community, climate and nature resilience through adaptation, collaboration and innovation.
This year we have achieved some fantastic things with the help of local communities and our project partners. We have given wildlife advice on over 22,000 acres of land, for at least 84 unique landowners, and easily reached at least 2,000,000 people through our joint events, media and partnership working. We have worked with new partners to generate evidence on how our natural flood management project SFI contributes to the wider wellbeing of society, and we have acquired a licence to release beavers in Sussex for the first time in over 400 years. Our Landscape Innovation Conference was a huge success, with 300 people attending, and we have supported a range of local community groups and environmental projects with advice and funding. Our volunteers gave us over 150 days of their time this year to help us to do this.
We are extremely grateful to everyone for the help and support we have received this year.
2 Summary of Achievements - Wilder Landscapes & Sussex Flow Initiative : 2019 – 2020
NATURAL FLOOD MANAGEMENT, NATURAL CAPITAL & HABITAT DELIVERY
Number of trees planted = 2,826 (SFI) Woodlands restored / planted = 0.2 ha (SFI) Hedgerows restored / planted = 415 m (SFI) Permanent & Temporary Standing Water restored = 1000 m² (SFI) Floodplain washland opened up = 0.35 ha (SFI Ouse) 1 ha+ (SFI Powdermill) Natural leaky dams installed = 142 (SFI Ouse) 15 (SFI Powdermill) Potential amount of water stored (30 flash flood events) = 50,512.5 tonnes (5,512,500 L) SFI Ouse = 60,450 tonnes (60,450,000 L) SFI Powdermill Amount of carbon stored = 20.4 tonnes C02 per year (SFI) Natural Capital benefits to society = minimum £120,000
SPECIES DELIVERY
Total Black poplars distributed = 255 to at least 12 landowners Beaver Licences acquired!!! = 1
ADVISING LANDOWNERS
Area of land with advice given acres / ha = 17,006 acres / 6,882 ha (Wilder Landscapes) = 5,792.2 acres / 2,345 ha (SFI) = 14.8 acres / 6 ha (SFI Powdermill) Unique landowners advised = 84+ (32 new landowners – Wilder Landscapes) Number of Landowner reports written = 35 (10 river catchments – Wilder Landscapes)
ADVISING OTHERS – PUBLIC LIAISON & PARTNERSHIP WORK
Local Groups & Stakeholders worked with (minimum) = 60+ Total number of events = 18 No of people attending events = 819 No of press releases and articles (that we know about) = Minimum 40 Web page views (LL) = 16,230 page views / 13,007 unique views Total Blogs = 23 Total blog views = 6.017 page views / 5,512 unique views. Press coverage figures = SFI > 150,000 / WL = > 2,000,000 Facebook engagements = 10,000 + Enquiries dealt with (conservative estimate) = 2,600
FINANCE (Subject to final audit)
Grant funding received = £8,000+ Grant funding given = £5,000+
VOLUNTEERS
Volunteer hours = 343 SFI Ouse / 667 WL / 114 SFI Powdermill Total volunteer days = Min 49 / 95.3 / 16.3 days of donated time Estimated value of volunteer hours = £ 6,700 SFI/ £2,749 SFI P’mill/ £15,476 WL Estimated other ‘in kind’ contributions to our work = £15,000 minimum
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Our Work Advising Landowners
Each year we give landowners all over Sussex professional advice on how to enhance their land for wildlife. This year we have given advice as far afield as Oxford and Wales. Below is a summary of landholdings we have advised over the last year. It shows the depth and geographical range of our influence. The overall land coverage of the project’s advice since the project started in 2001 is considerably greater than shown. R = Return visit or Repeat advice
Adur Padwicks – 38.9 acres Beechleaf – 11.9 acres Shortland Copse – 24.3 acres Brooklands Park – 51.5 acres Danefold farm – 198 acres R Brede, E Rother, Pett, Romney Rye & Tillingham Dunstalls – 7.8 acres Beech estate – 1321 acres Great Barn Farm, Chanctonbury – 49.4 acres Birchen Knoll – 12.3 acres Kingston Community NR – 11.4 acres Four Winds – 8.3 acres Knepp Rewilding Estate R – 1250 acres Flimwell park ponds – 20 acres Muntham House – 71.8 acres Maplesden – 301.5 acres New England Wood – 65 acres Maxfield manor – 251.5 acres R Shoreham Tree project – 10 acres Mere’s court – 23.2 acres Sompting Brooks – 20 acres R New House Farm, Etchingham – 265 acres R Sussex House – Cowfold – 24.7 acres Oaklands – 13.9 acres The Brook, Poynings – 2.6 acres Swallowtail hill – 38.6 acres Tottington pond – 0.8 acres The Cottage in the woods – 100.9 acres Wivelsfield parish – 21.3 acres Wadhurst park – 606 acres R
Arun & Western Streams Chichester Coastal Plain Amberhurst – 2.5 acres Chichester chalk streams – 1000 acres Botany bay – 10.8 acres R Eastergate Chalk Stream – 50 acres Bridge House Farm – 61.7 acres Singleton pond – 0.1 acres R
Burton Park – 311.2 acres Combe Haven Canada road gardens – 4.5 acres R Crowhurst Nature Reserve – 4.2 acres Ebernoe Common – 389.1 acres R Powdermill Trust – 15.5 R Haymans – 153.8 acres Marshalls Farm – 578.7 acres 4 Downs House – 13.7 acres East Ades, Chailey – 4.5 acres R East View Riding Centre – 31 acres Hillsdown farm – 104 acres R Holy Trinity School – 9.8 acres Huggett’s Furnace – 141.1 acres R Hurst barn – 400 acres R Lake Wood – 81 acres R Laughton Woods – 1041 R Lewes Brooks, RSPB – 60.4 acres Partridges, Uckfield – 3 acres Pickeridge farm – 125 acres R Piddinghoe lake – 35.5 acres Plashett wood – 1427 acres R Plumpton College – 1108 acres R Sheffield Park – 364.6 acres R Stanmer park pond – 0.4 acres Sussex University Campus – 200.4 acres Uckfield housing estate tree project – 70 acres Whitestone – 8.6 acres Woodsland farm – 297.5 acres R
Pevensey Langney marsh – 10 acres Milland Farm – 50 acres
Wey Cuckmere Hammer Farm House – 31.7 acres Berwick Angling Club – 8.8 acres East Dean & Friston Parish – 20 acres R Misc land = 300 acres Milton Gate Marsh – 43.2 acres R AREA WITH ADVICE GIVEN 2019 – 2020 = 17,006 Seven Sisters Country Park – 60 acres R acres / 6,882 hectares Vert woods – 50 acres R
Medway Unique visits/advice = 84 and new visits = 32 Puck Hill – 3.7 acres
Mole Burstow stream – 66 acres R Gatwick Greensapce – 1000 acres R
Ouse Bentley Wildfowl – 593.5 acres R Buxted allotments – 2 acres Cannon wood / Brickhurst – 6 acres Chailey Common – 366 acres R Cockhaise farm – 439 acres R Coldean Eco Community – 5.6 acres Court House – 10.3 acres Cuckfield Parish – 1066.5 acres R 5 6
Landowner Reports
We offer professional conservation and landscape advice across Sussex and produce comprehensive reports on how to enhance land for wildlife for key landowners visited. In total this year we produced 35 advisory reports across 10 different catchment areas :-
Adur = 7 Eastern Rother = 4 Arun = 6 Medway = 1 Brede = 0 Ouse = 11 Chi CP = 1 Tillingham = 1 Cuckmere = 2 Western Rother = 2
TOTAL Landowner reports produced = 35
These reports include :-
Bespoke maps highlighting site and landscape features of wildlife importance Recommendations for natural flood management, enhancingNature Recover Networks, Wilding, & the restoration natural processes (including beavers where appropriate). An assessment of the natural capital services provided on the land Advice on local species & habitats of note, and how to enhance land for notable species and habitats Ideas on sustainable living, regenerative farming, SUDS and alternative land uses Information on funding and potential partnership working
Landowner Feedback on our Advice and Support
“I wanted to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to you and SWT for the time you spent putting together the report on our Farm. What is so exciting, is that many of the recommendations you made, we will be able to put directly into action. As a community we want to create a farm-scape that is bountiful for wildlife and all living things. Many thanks“
“Thank you so much for allowing Fran to come over and give us some local wildlife advice. It was absolutely brilliant.”
“I wanted to emphasise to your Director how helpful SWT input has been, not only on what you've been doing directly on the land but also in terms of linking us with others.”
“It’s so nice to speak to someone with such passion and knowledge and a sense of humour too! I had a very helpful email from SFI afterwards and I'm looking forward to doing some Fake Beaver work on our land!!”
Cluster Farms
Cluster farms are a new way for landowners to work together at a landscape scale. Supported by the Defra facilitation fund, and a local farm Cluster coordinator, it is also a great way for us to engage with landowners at a landscape scale about wildlife and key issues such as water quality and natural flood management. This year we worked with :-
Rother Levels Cluster Farm Middle Ouse Cluster Farm Upper Ouse Cluster Farm Pevensey Cluster farm 7
Catchment and Landscape Scale Work
The Sussex Flow Initiative Project – Achievements this Year
Sussex Flow Initiative (SFI) is a Natural Flood Management (NFM) project on the River Ouse catchment in Sussex. It is a collaboration between Sussex Wildlife Trust, the Woodland Trust, the Environment Agency and Lewes District Council. This is a summary of SFI’s achievements this financial year. For further details see our full end of year report. This year we welcomed Sam Buckland to the project, who has achieved a fantastic amount in a short space of time.
Practical Delivery
This year SFI helped communities and landowners to :- Plant 2,826 native shrubs/trees as hedgerows (415m) and floodplain woodland (0.2 ha). Open up 0.35 ha of additional washland storage Create 1,000m² of seasonal scrapes to store flood water and create temporary wetland habitat for wildlife. Install 142 leaky natural woody dams.
Multiple Benefits
We’ve worked out that SFI brought the following benefits to society :-
We contributed to provisioning services, including biodiversity, food and timber We contributed to regulating services such as pollination, by planting >675 native flowering trees/shrubs within Buglife B-line pollinator corridors We created carbon storage of up to 20.4 tonnes of CO2 p.a. by planting trees Our habitat restoration and washland reconnection contributed to water purification
On every flood event, we estimate our work creates at least 1,683,750L of flood water storage. So if there are 30 flood events in a year, we might help to store 50,512,500L, or 50,512.5 tonnes. We have contributed to cultural services benefitting human health and welfare, connecting people with their environment and restoring historic landscape features.
Catchment wide influence
SFI advised landowners, stakeholders and communities across the Ouse catchment on ways to improve the catchment for wildlife, NFM and much more. This year :-
SFI influenced 437 ha of land for NFM positively influenced at least 7 km of the river network with our in-stream work, and at least 5 km through land based activities1 (70.5 km including all land where advice was given). created/restored 1.61 hectares of priority habitat contributing to Environment Agency targets worked on >3.6 km of watercourse failing to meet Water Framework Directive standards for phosphorous. SFI NFM delivery took place upstream of 17 properties considered to be at “very significant risk” of flooding.
Volunteer & in kind support
SFI is supported by a huge amount of community good will and elbow grease. This year :-
More than 32 volunteers contributed over 343 volunteer hours, with a value in excess of £6,7002 Partner organisations contributed at least £42,000 of their time in kind, and other landowners and organisations contributed at least £15,000 of their time in kind.
Advocacy
SFI trains and communicates with others about how NFM can help them. Our advocacy this year included:-
1 Only including waterbodies downslope and adjacent to tree planting (i.e. not including downstream effects) 2 Based on £100 per day for volunteers
Visiting 35 landowners of 41 sites, covering approximately 5.1% of land upstream of Lewes. Working with at least 29 local and national groups and stakeholders Working with community groups, including Chailey School and Vert Community Wood. Presenting at national and local events reaching audiences of over 700 Writing articles and posting social media which has reached at least 150,000 people
We had some great comments back from Chailey School students and teachers on the ‘Behave like a beaver day’ that Sam led on Chailey Common.
“Chailey School was invited to take part in the Sussex Flow Initiative Conservation Project at Chailey Common with Sussex Wildlife Trust. In the current climate it is frequently rainy and the flood risk is often high. The aim of the day was to slow the flow of the river and direct it over the Chailey common; reducing the risk of flooding in towns downstream”.
“We were taught how to safely cut down trees, cut away the brush and to make natural leaky dams. This would allow natural pools to be created and make more habitat for local wildlife”.
“The found out that the work we did is similar to the work that beavers would do if they were here. This leaky dam day helped us to develop new skills and it was an amazing project to be a part of”.
“Something like this is a great experience for young people and a fantastic chance to feel like we can help our changing climate and local community.”
Cuckmere and Crowhurst Natural Flood Management Project
Last year, we started a new Natural Flood Management project in partnership with the Environment Agency in the Powdermill catchment.
Our Project Officer Rina is now mum to a healthy baby, which unfortunately means that our delivery this year was slightly reduced. However our impact has still been high.
Image left - Volunteers of the Powdermill Trust help create a break in an old bund which helps to store HUGE amounts of extra floodwater.
This year in the Powdermill NFM project we have :- Created new washland flood storage of up to 2,000 tonnes / m³ (2,000,000 Litres!) per flood event across a 1ha+ wet woodland (if flooded to 8” depth). If there are 15 flood events in a year, that could be 30,000,000 L of water stored per year, and 30,000 less tonnes of water heading downstream to Crowhurst. Created an additional 15 tonnes / m³ (15,000L)1 of flood water storage per flood event with our leaky dams. If there are 30 flash flood events a year, this could be 450,000 L (450 tonnes) of water stored per year. Trained at least 10 people directly in the installation of leaky dams. Advised and influenced at least 6 ha / 14.8 acres of land. Had at least £7,749.14 of volunteer and in kind time dedicated to the project. Published a new case study which can be found here.
Our biggest win was opening up a huge new area of floodplain washland storage. A historic bund in the Powdermill woodland, confined surplus flood water to the edge of the floodplain, flowing quickly along a wide and straightened leat. As well as speeding up the volume and rate of floodwater reaching Crowhurst, the leat had also been funnelling precious seasonal water away from 1 ha+ of rare tussock sedge wet woodland, subsequently drying out the woodland and damaging its wildlife interest, which we reversed.
We checked that the bund wasn’t historically significant, and then it took a few volunteers, a couple of hours to cut a hole through it with a pickaxe (image right). The cost of the work was a few biscuits, some fuel to get to site, some elbow grease and a Kelly kettle of tea. This is one of the cheapest NFM measures we have installed so far, with some of the greatest benefits.
A small leaky dam was constructed in the leat channel (image below, foreground centre), to slow and back up flood water through the open hole in the bund, and subsequently into the wet woodland. The leaky dam still allows water to flow under it to sustain the leat and the habitats within it.
Following this minor intervention, flood water now takes the line of least resistance and flows through the new cut, into a natural washland storage area of over 1 ha in size. The results of just a few dedicated volunteers hard work creates natural flood storage in their local woodland were more spectacular than we could have hoped for. If only half a litre of water per second flows through the gap in the picture above (we estimate more), then about 43,000 litres of extra flood storage and slowing the flow is happening every day during floods. The woodland can freely drain, so it is a natural sink, filling and emptying as floods arrive and abate.
If only 8" of extra water is stored across this 1 ha+ wet woodland site (we think it's a lot deeper), it is providing 2 million litres of additional natural flood water storage (or around 2,000 tonnes of water) on every flood event. Slower floodwater is less damaging, cleaner, and better for wildlife, as well as being better for people whose houses are downstream in Crowhurst town. The image below was taken in December, before all the storms and major floods of our wettest February on record happened. It just goes to show that this simple and cheap NFM measure has already made a huge difference to flooding in Crowhurst.
With sincere thanks to the Sussex Flow Initiative’s Powdermill Project partners, the Powdermill Trust volunteers and the landowner for their support. We have another leaky dam day planned soon to add to their good work for natural flood management.
Wilder Sussex
This was the year when Rewilding Britain campaigned to the UK Government, to support the restoration to wild nature of 1 million hectares of land (5%) in the UK.
Closer to home in Sussex, we had the pleasure of celebrating having a licence granted to re-introduce beavers to Sussex for the first time in over 400 years. This is incredibly exciting news, and will be a fantastic step towards rewilding our waterways and wetlands for people and wildlife. As part of our preparation for the return of the beaver, we had some beaver handling training ! and had the pleasure of visiting the Forest of Dean to learn from their fencing and re-introduction experiences. The Beaver re-introduction has received a huge amount of positive press already, and is well supported by multiple local stakeholder including the Environment Agency.
We’ve been brainstorming with Chris Sandom at Sussex University, and Susan Wright from Sunstone Media, on ways to engage wider audiences and to deliver more for people and wildlife through a Rewilding network. In particular we have been focusing on engaging young people at the pre-career stage. We have a number of ideas emerging.
And we also ran our first Introduction to Rewilding course which was very well received.
You can sign up to our Wilder Future, Go Wild at Home, and 30 days Wild. Or if you have land that you would like to make Wilder, contact [email protected] .
Fran Southgate being interviewed for TV about plans for re-introducing beavers to Sussex for the first time in over 400 years
Climate Change
With unsettling climate change predictions, continuing Biodiversity decline, and an urgent need to reach net zero rapidly (preferably by 2030), this year was the year when natural solutions and natural capital were recognized for the important role that they play in our future lives and livelihoods.
This was a year of ‘people power’. Our Wilder Landscapes Officer joined the largest-ever environmental lobby of parliament in London, with 351 MPs meeting with their constituents to talk face to face about how they are going to respond to the climate and wildlife emergencies.
School children, farmers, grandparents and surfers were amongst an estimated 12,000 people who lobbied their MPs for urgent action on nature declines and climate change.
‘The Time is Now’ lobby was organised by The Climate Coalition and Greener UK, who combine more than 130 organisations and represent over 15 million people – ranging from aid agencies, CAFOD, Christian Aid and Islamic Relief, to community groups including the Women’s Institute, and environmental organisations such as The Wildlife Trusts and RSPB. Sussex Wildlife Trust was there to make sure that our local constituents were supported and heard.
It followed global environmental strikes, and the declaration of a climate and environment emergency by the UK parliament.
The work we do on natural flood management and other natural solutions will play an ever increasing part in offsetting climate damage.
Natural Capital
The UK’s growth economics model clearly fails to effectively recognise the true costs and benefits of destroying/protecting the natural environment – which in turn leads to continued destruction of the natural world to generate money. To try and counteract this, the idea of natural capital has been developed. Natural Capital is essentially the calculation of the true benefits that our landscapes bring to human wellbeing through the natural services they provide. Natural capital benefits are provided through several key ecosystem service areas:i
Provisioning services – i.e. food, timber, fresh water Regulating services – i.e. climate, noise and flood regulation, pollination Cultural services – i.e. recreation and tourism, physical and mental wellbeing Supporting services – i.e. soil formation, nutrient cycling, water cycling
In January 2020, the UK government published standardized guidance on natural capital and its valuation,ii which is the best means we currently have of evaluating the natural capital value of the work that we do. Natural Capital valuations have their flaws, but nonetheless offer us a clear way of articulating the cost : benefit ratio of the work that we do, taking into account the true and total costs of damaging or protecting our natural landscapes.
Other than our Nature Reserves, our Natural Flood Management work is the easiest to articulate, and best evidenced in terms of its benefits to society. Natural flood management is specifically a regulating service. NFM also has multiple additional benefits to society which go beyond just reducing flood risk. These include carbon storage and pollination services provided through tree planting for example.
This year we worked with the New Economics Foundation to create a clearer picture of the wider societal, environmental and economic benefits that our Sussex Flow Initiative project creates. We estimate that the total natural capital value created by SFI since it began in 2012 is at least £963,677, with cultural services providing the largest contribution. Effectively, for every £1 invested in the project, we generate at least £2 of benefits to society – before we include actual cash and ‘in kind’ raised on behalf of the project, and with only a limited number of ‘natural services’ able to be effectively valued (i.e. we could not put a value on the pollination services we support).
The results of our estimations offer real insights into the type of natural capital and ecosystem services that we can restore to help support people and wildlife.
Natural Flooding – What is the true value to society of enabling natural flooding in parts of the landscape where there is space for water, in terms of reducing flooding to people’s homes ? © P da Luz
Natural Solutions – To the Climate and Biodiversity Crises
Nature-based solutions will increasingly be needed to help us take action to address societal challenges such as climate change and wildlife decline. They also play an important role in helping humans to create healthy environments where both people and nature thrive. The consensus is that we need an immense push to protect and restore our wild places, lock up carbon, and much more through a huge range of ‘natural actions’ that we can all take. Our Wilder Landscapes Project is creating a list of actions that we can take in Sussex, to support natural solutions. Take a look at whether you can help us with Natural (Climate) Solutions :-
Marine Implement marine permaculture solutions such as Help our Kelp and seagrass bed protection / restoration Reduce or cease sea bed trawling (to limit the release of carbon from marine sediments) Support coastal re-alignment and saltmarsh restoration schemes Protect Living Seas – from fish to phytoplankton. Marine wildlife locks up carbon as it falls to the ocean floor.
Freshwater Support natural flood management & the appropriate restoration of beavers to the landscape Halt peat harvesting, help projects which restore peatlands, paludiculture, and stop the drainage of wetlands
Woodland and forestry Support the protection and restoration of soils Reduce deforestation and the degradation or destruction of existing woodland habitats Allow more natural regeneration of woodlands and scrublands (in the right places) Reforest and planting trees - BUT – right trees in the right place Use Natural forest management and reduce damaging forestry activities Carry out selective felling rather than clear felling
Agriculture Reduce compaction, poisoning and erosion of soils Use regenerative agriculture and agroforestry. Use no till, or minimum till wherever possible Naturally increase the organic content of your soils (don’t overcrop) Reduce the use of fertilizers to limit global emissions of nitrous oxide, another greenhouse gas. Plant cover crops during ley periods and in arable fields to protect soil carbon Increase legumes in pasture – and particularly those with deep soil root penetration & don’t overgraze Improve livestock feed regimes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions Reduce the total number of livestock needed to meet the demand for meat and dairy products through better animal welfare, changing husbandry practices, better marketing and reducing waste
Other Keep natural grasslands and shrub lands intact (particularly ancient ones) Support natural capital restoration Support a Nature Recovery Network Allow hedges to ‘billow’ and spread at the base Do some Wilding
At home Close the door in winter, and use natural ventilation (windows!) in summer Create a green roof, or a window box if you don’t have a garden Refuse, reduce, re-use, re-purpose and recycle –for a smaller carbon footprint Be water efficient – use less from the tap, capture more rainfall, and pour less down the drain Avoid single-use plastics and choose re-usable alternatives Go energy efficient – choose A+++ appliances, insulate your home and switch to a renewable energy supplier Convert from gas to renewable electricity, or try air source heat pumps or similar Bank ecologically – review the investment strategy of your banks and pension providers Use locally grown/sourced and seasonally-available foods Eat less meat and/or make sure it is locally sourced and grass-fed Plant a wildlife garden, and grow some of your own food – every little helps Consume less – everything we buy has a carbon footprint, energy footprint, water footprint and an ecological footprint. The less we consume, the lower these footprints will be. Refuse to use Peat Support Sussex Wildlife Trust
Beyond home Walk, cycle or use public transport instead of driving Take fewer (or no) flights – and particularly reduce short haul flights Be Climate Positive and help us co-create climate solutions. See 'What's your 2040'. Contact your MP about supporting natural climate solutions, & vote for people who defend nature. Find ways to capture carbon in urban settings – blue-green cities, green roofs and walls, urban gardens, community market gardens and more.
Policy and Strategic Advice
As well as the direct restoration of nature-rich landscapes, and our landowner advice, our Wilder Landscapes Officer also lobbies for strategic change by contributing to a range of policy consultations both locally and nationally. This can take the form of feedback on open public consultations, or direct consultations to Sussex Wildlife Trust.
These are just some of the consultations that we contributed to this year :-
The Wildlife Trusts Wilding Strategy Rewilding Britain Climate Change & Comms The Wildlife Trusts Landowner Strategy Sussex University Seas of change SWT 5 Year Strategy East Dean & Friston Tree Strategy The Wildlife Trusts Tree Strategy South Downs National Park Cuckmere Estuary Landscape Innovation Consultation Strategy EA Flood & Coastal Risk Management Strategy Wallingford NFM strategy Sussex Flow Initiative strategic discussions
We have also been involved with the Wildlife Trusts Investible Landscapes Work, and facilitated discussions between the New Economics foundation and farmers around enabling banks to generate more sustainable finance for regenerative farming. We advised School of the Wild on engaging Wild Business, and contributed to a review of the Ebernoe Common Management Plan, as well as advising Lewes District Council on the potential for the restoration of beavers to the Ouse River Catchment.
Membership Climate Change Questionnaire
Each year, Sussex Wildlife Trust sends out a questionnaire to its members, to gauge their interest and knowledge in key areas of environmental policy and practice. This year, we asked members their opinions on which natural habitats can help protect us from some of the impacts of climate change. The answers below indicate that our messages on wetlands and natural flood management are getting through.
Number % response Coastal habitats like saltmarsh and mudflats protect us from storm damage 2224 61.02% Wetlands are great for carbon storage 1576 43.24% Rivers can expand into their floodplains and reduce flooding downstream 2636 72.32% Woodlands can act as sponges when there is heavy rainfall 2942 80.71% None of the above 332 9.11%
Linking People and Landscapes
Engaging people so they feel part of their landscape, and recognize its value to their livelihoods and wellbeing is an essential part of our work. We do this in a myriad of ways, from supporting local community groups, to giving individual advice, and upskilling people to take positive action for change. This year we have engaged people with a new Landscape Innovation Conference, beavers, natural flood management, practical muddy boots tasks and much more. We have produced a range of educational materials which are freely available online. This is a brief summary of some of the influence that we have had through our Learning and Engagement work.
Our web pages
We aim to make as much free, professional information as we can, as accessible as possible to members of the public and wider audiences. Our web pages are key to disseminating much of this information, and this year we added to them with bespoke pages on the Sussex Beaver Trial, and the Landscape Innovation Conference. The Landscape Innovation Conference was 5th most viewed Sussex Wildlife Trust webpage in Dec 2019 and our Beaver blog was the 3rd most viewed webpage in Feb 2020. The figures below show the traffic on our web pages, with 16,230 page views and 13.007 unique page views on our main pages. Our wetlands section and the Sussex beaver trial proved to be by far the most popular!
Webpage Page views Unique Page Views Landowner Advice 435 353 Farming with Nature 163 135 Sussex Flow 610 461 Beaver Trial 2702 2430 Black Poplar 292 224 Community & Social Enterprise 96 64 Wetlands 8845 6777 Living Landscapes 234 199 Climate Competition 804 701 Climate what are we doing 104 69 Landscape Innovation Conference 1945 1594 Total views 16230 13007
The Sussex Wildlife Trust has a huge public reach considering the small size of the organization, and we grow our online influence every day. This year the total Living Landscapes wetland web page views on the SWT website had more than double the traffic that they had last year.
Social Media
Thanks to our dedicated Social Media and web engagement officer, we’ve had some fantastic coverage of our work through social media. Our Beaver story had 3500 engagements on Facebook (image right), and the Landscape Innovation Conference had 600 engagements
Our Beaver re-introduction post was the most popular post on Facebook and LinkedIn in February 2020, and the second most popular on Twitter and Instagram too. It’s great to know that so many people are as enthusiastic about beavers as we are!
Our Sussex Flow Initiative video was the most popular on our LinkedIn page in Jan 2020 & the Landscape Innovation Conference was the 3rd most popular. Sussex Flow Initiatives tree planting video was the 4th most popular post on Facebook in March 2020.
Case studies
Our learning and experience in Natural Flood Management is freely available to others. This year we uploaded 2 online Case Studies of our project work on various NFM techniques. The Case Studies highlight costs, multiple benefits and partnership working for each site.
Blogs
We’ve published 23 blogs on the Sussex Wildlife Trust News pages this year, as well as hosting guest blogs from Regenerative farmers, the New Economics Foundation and Sussex University. Our blogs aim to highlight a range of key issues, with climate change, farming and rewilding featuring heavily this year. Our blog ‘Views’ totalled 6,017 this year, with beavers being the obvious favourite.
Blogs The subtle makings of a wild place 44 40 Soil Carbon 95 88 Beavers are back 3649 3403 Buzzing with ideas 115 102 Meet the experts 80 66 New Year Revolutions 52 45 Soil - the biodiversity underworld 58 57 Regen Ag & Landscape innovation 90 82 12 things you can do for wildlife 191 177 Something to crow about 68 65 Rewilding parliament 87 69 Landscape Innovation - Why we need it 208 179 Climate Change Tree planting solution 359 328 Landscape innovation & Climate Change 28 24 Edible trees and animal health 107 104 Improve livestock help 83 71 Language of the land 57 50 10 ways carbon literate 97 93 Care vs control 41 39 Vision for climate and flood resilience 96 79 wilding will help tackle climate change 188 156 Where did barn owls live? 127 112 Wilder future for water voles 97 83 Total views 6017 5512
National and Local Websites
As a department of Sussex Wildlife Trust, our Living Landscapes and Natural Flood Management web pages are linked to many other local and national websites. This means our influence and learning is disseminated to audiences much further afield than Sussex. The websites we are currently cited on include :-
Cuckmere and Pevensey Catchment Partnership Eco Chi – Landscape conference page Environment Agency – Working with natural processes Evidence Directory Mid Arun Valley Environmental Survey Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust Ouse & Adur Catchment Partnership Rewilding Britain River Restoration Centre Sussex Local Nature Partnership Transition Town Lewes West Sussex County Council Woodland Trust The Wildlife Trusts
A talk we gave to the Institute of Water in partnership with Knepp Rewilding estate.
Events
We have hosted, collaborated on and spoken at a number of events this year, across a wide range of audiences. Our events include :-
Talk on sustainable farming to Plumpton SDS walk = 17 college students = 14 East Hoathly Natural History Society = 36 Chailey Common Society, Waterproofing our Cuckmere & Pevensey Catchment Partnership landscapes, black poplars & pocket ponds = 24 Update = 20 Landscape Innovation Conference = 300 Institute of Water Wilding Walk = 22 Adur Cluster Farm Event = 44 Lunch and Learn, Adur & Worthing BC = 16 Adur beavers event for landowners = 39 Sompting = 26 Wilding Course = 21 Kent INTERREG = 50 Royal Vetinary College Wilding walk = 18 East Chiltington talk = 23 Sussex Dragonfly Society Guest event = 25 Brooklands park, Food Pioneers kids event = SDS walk = 12 112
Total people attending Living Landscapes events in 2019 / 2020 = 819 Total events = 18
The event of the year was the Landscape Innovation Conference. We hosted 300 people in partnership with Chris Sandom from Sussex University, on the themes of the biodiversity and climate crises. We were privileged to have some incredible speakers, including the inspirational youth speaker, Bella Lack, and Robert Reed from the A Team Foundation. There was a fantastic buzz on the day, and huge momentum to make the changes that we need to create real action for people and the planet. We had some incredible feedback which you can see below :-
“Thanks for a brilliant event. It has confirmed to me the huge opportunity that there is for people to create something positive for nature, whilst connecting an increasingly hungry public with the results of their efforts. I’ll keep you posted as our plans evolve and thanks again for such a fantastic day”.
“I had a great time at the conference. It felt really well thought through and just seemed to come together, which I put down to you and the SWT!”
“The members of conservation committee that attended the innovation conference were really impressed with the event, thought it was very useful and also showed the wildlife trust in a very positive light. They wanted me to pass on their congratulations for the event”.
“Great conference. We made loads of useful connections and thought you did a fantastic organisation job. Look forward to working closely in future!”
“I just want to email to thank you for pouring so much time and energy into organising a fantastic conference, which will have far-reaching impacts on conservation and environmentalism. With best wishes, Bella Lack.”
“Fantastic conference! I really enjoyed it, great speakers and good to meet lots of people with a shared interest. Going to be stay in touch with people once I start the County Farms project Hope you do it again next year!”
“Just to say WELL DONE for such a great conference. Everyone was buzzing. I was a concerned that it might have too much of a landscape / farming focus to make it relevant to my work – but it was really useful and I talked with some excellent people. I was also really pleased to see 3 schools receive the climate award, 2 of them in Brighton.
“Thank you. It was privileged to work with you on the project and like so many of the delegates I feel inspired”.
“Well done all for putting on a truly informative and inspiring day which seemed to go without a hitch!”
“What a great event yesterday was. To be part of SWT hosting such an innovative conference and meeting such a fantastic crowd of people was great. Lots to think about but highlights for me were hearing Bella speak, the feeling of positive energy, and the sense of urgency and personal challenge. There was lots in the talks that I would like to discuss further and it was a good catalyst for debate as well as further collective action”.
“Huge congratulations for yesterday - I’ve come back brimming with ideas and loads of new contacts”.
Press
We’ve had a wide range of media published this year – in everything from local magazines to national newspapers; as well as National campaigns.
BBC South Today (Beavers) (500,000) Spirit FM (Beavers) BBC Sussex Breakfast (Beavers) (223000) Sussex Life magazine (Beavers) Chailey School Bulletin Sussex University - Broadcast News CLM Black poplar update Sussex University Student Hub News Cluster Farms newsletter Sussex Wildlife Trust autumn Winter Magazine Countrylife magazine (40,000) (18,500) Countryman magazine (Beavers) SWT membership mail out on beavers and Crowhurst News (800) competition Extinction Rebellion The Argus & The Argus & The Argus Farmers Weekly – Farmers part of the solution The Guardian (Beavers) Gatwick Diamond Business The Times (Beavers) Growing Wild FM/Radio Reverb (Otters) The Wildlife Trusts – Examples of our Wetland Knepp Wildland Website Work Lewes District News Uckfield FM (Beavers) Meridian ITV (Beavers) (342,000) Vert wood News ProLandscaper magazine Wayward bee blogs SDS Newsletter West Sussex County Times - Beavers SINC – LIC conference You tube
This year our media coverage has had the potential to have influenced over 2 million people !!
Our Volunteers
We had at least 538 hours (76.9 days) of volunteer time dedicated to the Living Landscapes Team in 2018/19, and more than 455 hours (65 days) of volunteer time contributed to the Sussex Flow Initiative. This equates to at least £17,750 worth of volunteer time contributed through our projects. This figure doesn’t include ‘in kind’ funding such as the staff time that our partner organisations dedicate to our projects and in-house support from SWT staff. This is valued at a minimum of £75,000!
An immense thank you to all those who give up their time to help our work.
Finance and Fundraising
Each year, we rely on the good will of stakeholders, grant funding bodies, landowners and donations to enable us to do the work that we do. This year, our key funding partners include the Delves Trust, Lewes District Council, the Woodland Trust, Sussex Wildlife Trust and the Lund Fund. In return, we also fund a number of local projects.
Project’s we’ve funded This year we have provided funding to the following community projects :- £1,500 – For Habitat improvements at the Chichester to Arundel canal (see pictures below) Funding for to restore old fish ponds at Botany bay chalks stream (see newsletter below) Shoreham More Trees Please Project for Climate Change (see pictures below) Etchingham Regenerative Agriculture Agroforestry project (see pictures below) 6 Winners of the Landscape Innovation Conference Creating Climate Capacity Competition including Brighton Schools and Brighton and Hove Food partnership.
Volunteers from London help a local RegenAg farmer to plant agroforestry trees thanks to our grant funding (above).
Volunteers help to climate proof Shoreham by planting up
trees funded by the Wilder Landscapes project.
Works to restore habitat on the disused canal in the parish of North Mundham. Originally part of the Portsmouth to Arundel canal, and abandoned in 1855, there appeared to a have been no active management in recent history. Work was carried out in September 2019 to dig out sections of the canal which had silted up.
Our grant applications :- The Wilder Landscapes project has also successfully applied for grants on behalf of landowners for :-
£1,656.70 – Lund Fund leaky dam work £1,000 - from the Greenfunders network for beaver work at Knepp Rewilding project £1,500 – from a private grant giving body for landowner advice and habitat restoration Funding for workshops and advice on wilder woodlands, from the Lost Woods of the Low Weald project
We have also received donations for climate change mitigation through the SFI project :-
£480 – from BHASVIC school to offset their field trip for 70 A level Geographers measuring carbon capture in trees on the Croatian island of Dugi Otok (image right). £3,570.72 – from Brighton Skate-a-thon to offset the climate impact of the Royal Pavillion Ice rink
In November, the Elastic (Dance Fantastic) class mates aged 9-12 took part in a 50 circuit Skate-a-thon at the Royal Pavillion Ice Rink. They hoped to raise £100, and instead raised an amazing £445. They raised the money for Sussex Flow Initiative because they would like a healthier planet.
A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED US, AND WHO HELPED NATURE THIS YEAR
APPENDIX 1 – Key Partners
The following are some of the groups that we have supported and worked with in the year 2019 - 2020:-
1. The A Team Foundation 28. Lewes District Council 2. Angling societies 29. Local Nature Partnership 3. Arun Valley Vision Group 30. Lund Fund 4. Arun & Rother Rivers Trusts (ARRT) 31. Mid Arun Valley Environmental Survey 5. Beavers Trust 32. National Trust 6. BHASVIC school 33. Natural England 7. Botany bay conservation group 34. New Economics Foundation 8. Brighton University 35. NFU 9. Catchment Partnerships (x 5) 36. Ouse & Adur Rivers Trust (OART) 10. Catchment Sensitive Farming 37. Parish Councils (multiple) including Walberton 11. Chailey Commons Society 38. Plumpton College 12. Chailey School 39. Rewilding Britain 13. Crowhurst Environment Group 40. Royal Pavillion Ice Rink 14. Defra 41. RSPB 15. East Chiltington Society 42. South Downs National Park Authority 16. East Hoathly Natural History Society 43. South East Rivers Trust 17. East Sussex County Council 44. South East Water 18. Environment Agency 45. Southern Water 19. Exeter University 46. Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre (SxBRC) 20. FLOW project 47. Sussex Dragonfly Society (SDS) 21. Forestry Commission 48. Sussex Mammal Group 22. FWAG 49. Sussex University 23. Gatwick Greenspace 50. Sussex Wildlife Trust 24. Hampshire Wildlife Trust 51. The Wildlife Trust (National) 25. High Weald AONB Unit 52. Wakehurst Place (Kew Gardens) 26. Horsham District Council 53. West Sussex County Council 27. Knepp rewilding project 54. Woodland Trust i UK National Ecosystem Assessment. (no date). Ecosystem ii Defra. (2020). Enabling a natural capital approach (ENCA) – Services. Retrieved from http://uknea.unep- Guidance. Retrieved from wcmc.org/EcosystemAssessmentConcepts/EcosystemServices/tab https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/enabling-a- id/103/Default.aspx natural-capital-approach-enca-guidance