Ashurst Parish Council joins Weald to Waves Programme

Ashurst Parish Council has joined the Weald to Waves programme, a network of parish councils, farmers, land managers, gardeners, community groups, schools, churches and wildlife charities working together to establish a 100-mile nature recovery corridor from the High Weald to the Sussex coast.

The land and properties in Ashurst Parish lie within the corridor and so the Parish Council believe the village has an important role to play within the programme.

Ashurst Recreation Ground and the churchyard surrounding St James’s Church have both signed up to join the programme which is coordinated by the coordinated by the Knepp Wildland Foundation.

Gardens and community greenspaces make up 10% of the Sussex landscape and have a huge collective power to restore nature. By taking action together, these spaces can create vital stepping stones for wildlife to reconnect natural habitats, reduce the impacts of climate change and support resilient food production across Sussex.

To find out more and sign up for free to Gardens & Greenspaces go to https://www.wealdtowaves.co.uk/gardens-greenspaces. Anyone with a Sussex postcode can join and access the members area of the website. You will have the opportunity to put your ‘dot’ on the Weald to Waves map and find resources and expert advice, read other members stories and check the events calendar.

There is also a new ‘Actions for Nature’ tool to support members – whether starting on their wildlife gardening journey or looking for new ways to progress and add complexity to their green space. So, if you have a garden, whatever its size, or you know there’s a community greenspace in the parish that could support wildlife, then join the programme and let’s join the dots across Sussex!

Tara Dawson (Adur Catchment Officer) at the Ouse and Adur Rivers Trust (www.oart.org.uk) gave a presentation at an Ashurst Parish Council meeting in November on the Adur Adaptation Project, an Environment Agency and West Sussex County Council funded initiative, which takes a whole landscape approach to improving the condition and function of the River Adur.

The 10-year project launched in 2023 with an aim of to achieving a 10% reduction in peak flows in the River Adur during periods of heavy rainfall, to help protect local communities from the risk of flooding. The project also aims to increase drought resilience, improve water quality, enhance the river and floodplain environment, and improve its resilience to climate change through natural flood management initiatives such as leaky dams, tree and hedgerow planting and the creation of scrapes, ponds and wetlands.

If you own land in the River Adur catchment, OART can offer free advice and fund projects which meet their aims. They are also looking for volunteers to help on practical activities. If you would like to find out more, please contact tara.dawson@oart.org.uk.