Category: Community Led Sites

Shoreham Port Conservation Corridor

Posted on by Sue Standing

Despite being an organisation focused on dolphins and porpoises, we believe that all wildlife is interconnected and important.

It can be hard to get people involved with more marine focused projects so, to make it easier for people to connect with nature, we run a side project on the Shoreham Port Conservation Corridor (SPCC).

The SPCC is a unique project site, nestled in the industrialised area of Shoreham Port, and bordered by housing, making it an isolated and important first land-fall for migratory butterfly species.

The Shoreham Port Conservation Corridor is about 1.8 hectares, but the Butterfly banks is small at roughly 5mx5m

This isolated area hosts a number of habitat types, and our goal is to enhance these to increase biodiversity in this urbanised landscape. The diversity of wildlife present is something we are particularly proud of. During a Bioblitz in July 2024, we recorded an impressive 114 species within just two hours. Typical examples of species are: Viper’s Bugloss, Oxeye Daisy, Pyramidal Orchid.

No seed mixes have been sown and we have a management plan for the whole of the SPCC, using scythes and strimming. We do not cut the butterfly bank, we only maintain it buy removing any weeds or overpopulated species.

One of our site’s standout features is the chalkland butterfly bank. This area is carefully maintained to encourage the growth of wildflowers each spring and serves as a critical habitat for local pollinators.

The Shoreham Port Conservation Corridor (SPCC), managed by our dedicated team of volunteers alongside our volunteer Head Ranger, Ben, is a vibrant site undergoing continuous management.

Our team conducts litter picks to keep the site clean, maintenance of pathways and winter scallop site clearances, removing overgrowth to expose the soil and give dormant seeds an opportunity to sprout.

We typically work on a couple of sites each year across the SPCC, continually enhancing the biodiversity of the area.

We have also just built a hibernaculum (A safe structure for reptiles and other small species to hibernate over winter) and are looking to plant native wildflowers on top.

Hibernaculum

In the Spring/Summer time we will host a Bioblitz to see how many different species we can find on site.

For further information, please contact: amber.cherrington@sussexdolphinproject.org

Address: what3words: ///remind.wiser.cups This community led project is accessible at anytime. Wheelchair access from the west side of the site but there only dirt pathways so might be tricky for wheelchair users in the wetter months. There is stair access from Albion street

Visit the The Sussex Dolphin Project website to find out more about all the projects they carry out.

Friends of Marine Gardens

Posted on by Sue Standing

Bus Route: 700 & 8a    Open to the Public 24/7

As a formal garden, most of the areas in Marine Gardens are tended to, cut lawns and flowed beds nursed. Our goal is to provide all round colour.

We do however understand that to some, a garden should be left to nature rather than managed. Acknowledging this, we have the Wilding walk, which can be found around the North East part of the garden, where the grass is not cut and we allow nature to do its own thing.

North East Area of Garden
Art work and Flowers
Oxeye Daisies

The beds have wild flowers and with the back drop from a local artist, we have a different look and feel and we have a completely different  colour scheme. It is also the site for the gardens compost heap where we produce our own compost supporting all the gardens.

We are fortunate that we also tend to a Fish pond, where currently there is so much wild life thriving.

Marine Gardens Fish Pond

We also work in partnership with ‘Pumpkin Childs nursery” and their art work is often visible in the gardens.

Posters and Art Work by Pumpkin Childs Nursery
View of Marine Gardens from Seafront entrance
Dragon Fly

Marine Gardens is disabled friendly and has its own café plus private and council toilets.

For further information please contact: fomgwor@gmail.com

Sustainable Sussex

Posted on by Sue Standing

We are creating The Fen Farm, Nature trail and Community Orchard in partnership with Sompting Estate – Spaces which will demonstrate how together, a community can create amazing spaces, great connections, the best quality value added products, healthy and tasty food experiences that so many do not experience.  We care for people and planet while engaging and supporting those who may be marginalised through diverse circumstances – from mental or physical health, to age, trauma or loneliness and exclusion.

Sustainable Sussex prides itself in delivering safe and engaging practical projects which have real-world outputs, such as high-value products from Sussex Chilli Farm, where individuals feel an ownership of the projects and products.  This is allowed through the natural support networks that are encouraged to form within the groups, often allowing people who would traditionally not be encouraged to take on leadership roles due to disability or other difficulties to do so.

More information on https://www.sustainablesussex.org/

Friends of Whitebeam Woods

Posted on by Sue Standing

Whitebeam Wood is the last remaining pocket of ancient woodland in the Borough of Worthing, and is an important site locally.

It is well supported by the Borough and is maintained by Friends of Whitebeam Wood, a local conservation group who carry out pond and woodland management.

The Group meet on the third Saturday of each month (excluding August) to work between 10.00 am and 1.00 pm.

We aim to maintain this ancient community woodland, working in conjunction with Worthing Borough Council.

Through this conservation work we try to develop wildlife habitats and encourage the interest and involvement of the local community.

If you think you would enjoy conservation work, in a local wood with a pond, no experience necessary, all tools provided then please contact us.

How to find Whitebeam Wood

Go to Romany Road in Durrington BN13 3DW (near Tesco). There are several entrances to the wood from the slip road Whitebeam Road. Ample parking. Meet by the pond.

Friends of Whitebeam Wood

Worthing

BN13 3DW

Sompting Brooks Nature Trail

Posted on by Sue Standing

Sompting Brooks Nature Trail is located at the south end of Loose Lane, Sompting BN15 0DQ, and is open all year round.

Access is on foot only from the south end of Loose Lane. Do not park outside the flats at the end of Loose Lane as this area is reserved for local residents. Park along Loose Lane before the junction with Sylvan Road or preferably come by foot, bicycle or via public transport (the number 7 bus stops just outside the entrance).

The path is a farm track laid in sections with gravel and is somewhat uneven. Access might be difficult for wheelchairs or buggies, particularly in the winter.

The meadow area is about 6 HA with native wetland flowers and grasses in the new stream bank meadows, native wildflower meadow mixes in the former arable meadows.

stream bank
Surveying the species

We have used Emorsgate EM4 Meadow Mixture for wetter soil areas and Emorsgate EM5 for the drier and/or more loamy areas. Both mixes contain a good range of the wild flowers and grasses once common in unimproved flower-rich lowland meadows.

Former arable meadows are managed by regular grazing/cutting outside of flowering season, and the wetland meadows are seasonally controlled by volunteers (hand pulling/cutting) of over vigorous species as needed.

The wildflower meadow and stream banks now host four species of orchid; Southern March Orchid, Common Spotted Orchid, Pyramidal and Bee Orchid.

Bird Vetch (Vicia cracca)
Sainfoin (Onobrychis sativa)

We have regular River Ranger volunteers sessions at the EPIC project site at Sompting Brooks. These run on the 3rd Sunday of the month and include seasonal habitat maintenance activities such as reed cutting, tree mulching & channel clearing.

For more information about volunteering, please email Alistair.whitby@oart.org.uk to join the River Ranger list.

TTW Greenspaces – The Triangle

Posted on by Sue Standing

The Triangle is a smaller plot of land in Tarring, where Haynes Road meets Guildford Road. It is currently gardened by a handful of local residents, including children. It has raised vegetable and soft fruit beds, some fruit and native trees, herbs and a wild area with a small pond, housing frogs and our resident toad!

Our small shed, which we made from pallets, houses a few tools and provides a mini water catchment area for the water butts. Anyone is welcome to come and help with the garden and share produce.

We soon hope to create together a small children’s area.

The Triangle

Worthing

BN14 7LL

traceyjanmclaren@gmail.com

Friends of Tarring Park

Posted on by Sue Standing

The group does meet up itself but is linked to Tarring Community Forum. The TCF meets every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7 pm. The venue for meetings is West Worthing Baptist Church, South Street, Tarring, Worthing. Any FoTP members who are not able to attend the meetings are kept up to date with forthcoming events and become involved where they can.

The main aim of Friends of Tarring Park is to help maintain the park, notify any problems to the appropriate authority, and to make good use of the park by arranging Community events. Events include Easter Egg Hunt/Easter Bonnet Competition, Picnic in the Park and Carols in the Park. Also, a new event this year is ‘An Autumn Walk n the Park’. This involves an interesting and informative talk by an expert about the various trees in the park.

We hold monthly litter picks on every 2nd Saturday of the month from 10 am. These are advertised as being friendly and sociable. We encourage members of the local community to join in including children.

Tarring Park is situated between Church Road and South Street , Tarring. It leads onto Church House Gardens which is the home to Tarring Priory Bowls Club. As well as the lawn bowls green there are adjacent tennis courts. Within the park itself there s a children’s playground and a MUGA.

Friends of Tarring Park

Worthing

BN13 1EU

dee.richardson19@outlook.com

Shoreham Beach Local Nature Reserve

Posted on by Sue Standing

The Shoreham Beach Local Nature Reserve extends along Shoreham beach from the land at Shoreham Fort to the Church of the Good Shepherd.

It is approximately 100 m wide from north to south in most places and is around 25 times longer in length at 2.5 km total area 26.2 hectares. About half or slightly less is vegetated shingle which is an internationally rare habitat as most shingle moves and prevents growth of vegetation. It used to be the only UK site of the Starry clover plant but it is now growing on Lancing Beach and in Hampshire.

The Friends of Shoreham Beach Local Nature Reserve (LNR) work to protect the LNR, and educate and help people enjoy it. So they run Beach Cleans, an annual Flower Walk, Rock Pooling when conditions suitable, Bird Walks, Lectures, Stands at outside events and other educational events. A marine biologist runs educational events for schools on the LNR.

The LNR is owned by Adur District Council and the Friends manage the LNR with advice from specialists and the Adur-Worthing District Council parks department.

Starry Clover on the reserve
Starry clover on the reserve
Shoreham Beach LNR
Shoreham Beach LNR

The end of May is the best time to see the flowers. It has the rare Starry Clover, Trifolium stellatum, and a population of Yellow Horned Poppy. Guided wildflower walks by arrangement.

The Friends organise specialist surveys. In 2018 Graeme Lyons did the first extensive survey of the LNR invertebrates and in all he has found 249 species and over 10% of these have conservation interest. As some insects will only use one plant the maintaining of the habitat is important to for the continued support of this diverse population of insects.

Events notified by email to members and others requesting information about events.

Beach Cleans: friendsofshorehmbeach@gmail.com

Schools educational visits: stevep.savage@ntlworld

It is accessible anytime. There is a board walk for wheel chairs over most of the Reserve.

Visit the Friends of Shoreham Beach Local Nature Reserve website.

Eastbrook Community Gardeners

Posted on by Sue Standing

Secret gardens and wildflowers

We are a small group who came together because we are interested in improving Southwick and Fishersgate green spaces for the well-being of people and pollinators alike. Our primary focus is sowing wildflowers and planting trees.

We work on St Aubyns in Fishersgate and now have a base near Eastbrook Manor Community Centre called The Secret Garden-Fishersgate. We support Layland Court pocket park, Manor Court garden and the Friends of Southwick Square. We are waiting on Impulse leisure centre in Southwick to plant an orchard and a wildflower meadow.

For more information please contact

Secret Garden

Fishergate

West Sussex

BN41 1PN

eastbrookcommunitygardeners@gmail.com

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Cortis Avenue Wildlife Garden

Posted on by Sue Standing

Cortis Avenue Wildlife Garden (CAWG) is located off Cortis Avenue, Broadwater, Worthing (BN14 7BG) .  It is a small site (owned by Worthing Homes) about the size of a football pitch. It is managed by a constituted community group of volunteers. The site is gated for security as the original site was a fly-tipped playing field. As well as a refuge for wildlife in an urban area, we aim to be an educational resource for people interested in encouraging wildlife into their gardens.

A rich habitat for pollinators
A colourful wildflower meadow

The garden is open for visitors and volunteers every Wednesday and Friday between 10am and 12 noon, and also at those time on the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month.

The site is managed to create a number of different wildlife habitats – trees and hedgerows, orchard, pond, wildflower meadow, herb garden, rough grass, nettles and brambles. Flowers planted for sun and semi-shade to attract pollinators, and we have a beehive.

The types of flower plants are quite numerous so examples only:

Dappled Shade – wood spurge, primrose, foxglove, honesty, dames violet, garlic mustard, red campion, cow parsley

Sunny – wild carrot, knapweed, scabious, oxeye daisy, teasel, mullein, mallow, white deadnettle, ragwort (for Cinnabar Moth), plus annual wildflower mix

Flowering Trees and Hedgerow – Buddleia, Bird Cherry, Spindle, Guelder Rose, Dogwood, Wild Rose, Hawthorn, Alder Buckthporn, Hazel, Sussex Heritage Apple Trees, Wild Service Trees, Blackthorn, Field Maple, Elderberry

The wildlife supported includes butterflies – Yellow Brimstone, Meadow Brown, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Small Copper, Red Admiral, Peacock, and various Moths, including the Cinnabar Moth.

Also a range of other wildlife – damsel and dragonflies, pond creatures, mini-beasts and bugs e.g. shield bugs, grass hoppers, beetles.

And of course, we always have a resident fox.

We can be contacted via our email address: corstisavewildlife@gmail.com or phone 01903 530780 to speak to the Secretary.
Cortis Avenue Wildlife Garden | Facebook