Our first community get-together

We invited community members from across the Low Weald and Downs to hear their ideas on how we can restore our ancient woodlands. AirS Lost Woods Team Leader, Karen Laver, explains the community-led approach.

The room was filled with the sounds of beautiful singing and guitar music, the humming of chatter and the clinking of teacups. This was no ordinary Saturday afternoon at Hurstpierpoint Village Centre - it was our first community get-together for the Lost Woods project, led by project partner Action in Rural Sussex (AirS).

We invited representatives from local volunteer-led conservation and community groups, parish councillors, woodland workers and people interested in volunteering.

We wanted to inspire people to become part of the Lost Woods community, hear their ideas on how to get local people involved in connecting our fragmented ancient woodlands, and how we ensure that everybody feels welcome in nature and wants to play a part in protecting it.

It’s a big ask to give up a Saturday afternoon!  So we made it feel like a party rather than a meeting with a cream tea, quiz and inspiring talks from the Woodland Trust and the Children’s Forest to help kick start ideas.  

This was an asset based community development (ABCD) event. It’s aim was to provide a space to be filled with ideas, listening and discussion - a bit like creating fertile ground and seeing what grows. We had a range of activities designed to start conversations.

And the result has been really inspiring. We had people wanting to offer skills, knowledge and motivation, others wanting to to plant more trees and hedges with children through schools and events and another wanting to create a Mid-Sussex mini Weald to waves initiative.

We have funding, thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, for our community development workers to work with local people to turn their own Lost Woods ideas into reality.

Would you like to join us next time?

The project is open to everyone, so if you would like to join us at the next community get-together please send us an email at lostwoodsteam@ruralsussex.org.uk.

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