20 Charity & Community
Sussex Snippets Thirty-two children’s artworks created doing The Bowdleflodes Wildlife Project from local schools will be exhibited at Arundel Museum during half term from 26 Oct – 3 Nov 2019. ‘Meet the Bowdleflodes’ Children’s Art Exhibition is part of The Bowdleflodes Wildlife Project, a free educational activity which teaches children about the care of endangered species and conservation using the visual arts. Free entry for all visitors. More good causes and community projects will be helped in the future as a new ‘forever fund’ has been created for the South Downs National Park (SDNP). To kick start the endowment, Southern CoOp has donated £10,000, together with £100,000 from the Trust and £100,000 of match-funding from the SDNP Authority. Any organisation interested in making a grant application should email mark.rose@southdownstrust.org.uk or call 01730 819219 for an initial conversation about the project. Please note the next deadline for all grant applications is 2nd March 2020. 130 local trekkers braved windy and muddy conditions to walk the marathon distance of 26.2 miles across the South Downs, raising money for local hospice St Barnabus House. The marathon trekkers raised over £40,000 for the hospice. The highest
fundraising group were a team of six men from Project Spartan - who are on track to raise an incredible £3,500 for St Barnabus House. Sir David Attenborough is backing a pioneering campaign to restore a vast underwater kelp forest off the Sussex coast. Historically, kelp was abundant along the West Sussex coastline, but this important habitat has since diminished over time. Restoring the kelp would bring back marine wildlife and replenish the local fisheries. It would also help fight Climate Change as kelp forests can lock up carbon just as effectively as woodland. Through the Help Our Kelp partnership, Sussex Wildlife Trust want to bring back the kelp forest, but they need community support. To find out how you can help, watch the Trust’s ‘Help Our Kelp’ video at sussexwildlifetrust.org/helpourkelp Brighton and Hove Triathlon entries for the 2020 race are now open and are expected to book up quickly. This year had the largest participation to date, with over 1600 competitors Organisers hope to exceed this next year. www.brightonandhovetriathlon.com A new tech recycling charity Business2Schools has now received formal charitable status from the charity commission. Business2Schools puts business and schools in touch so that they can exchange valuable tech equipment and save thousands of pounds worth of tech equipment from being unnecessarily sent to landfills. www.business2schools.com At the most recent National Policing Board, Ministers confirmed that funding to recruit the first tranche of 6000 police officers is now allocated to forces and Sussex will be able to recruit 129 over the next 18 months. This is on top of the 250 extra police officers that Sussex Police have already started recruiting over the next four years. It is great news and means that Sussex Police numbers will rise by 379. More than £18,000 has been raised after the community has rallied round to help reverse the decline of bees in the South East. A flurry of donations and fundraisers over the past few months have boosted the Bee Lines campaign, which was launched on World Bee Day on May 20th by the South Downs National Park Trust. Now the charity is calling on community groups across the region to get behind the fundraising drive, which aims to restore flowerrich habitats and create a haven for pollinators in the South Downs. www.southdownstrust.org/beelines The future of Shoreham’s multi-award winning Ropetackle Arts Centre is set to be secured after Adur District Council agreed to step in to provide thousands of pounds of funding. Urgent action is needed to stem carbon emissions, reduce pollution and protect wildlife. The South Downs Youth Action Days are for anyone aged between 16 and 25 who is passionate about environmental action and is looking to learn practical skills to conserve and enhance the South Downs National Park. Action days are free for young people wanting to get involved across half term. southdowns.gov.uk Please email notices to: info@sussexlocal.net
