Sussex Wildlife Trust is hosting the Small Mammals of Sussex on Monday, 30th November 2020 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM, an online presentation by Laurie Jackson, Ecologist & Wildlife Lecturer.

Laurie will give us an introduction to the wonderful and varied small mammals of Sussex, the trials and tribulations of living life in miniature, and some of the survey methods you can use to track these species down!

The talk will focus on our smaller mammal species: mice, voles and shrews. Learn about the dormouse, the diminutive harvest mouse, the incredible water shrew and many more.

The talk will last for approximately 45 minutes and there will be a short Q&A session at the end.

This talk is free but donations to assist the work of Sussex Wildlife Trust would be appreciated. There will be an opportunity to donate at the end of the talk.

To register click here.

Greenhavens Network supports over 100 community groups volunteering to bring your green spaces to life and is holding its next Zoom meeting on Wednesday 2nd December 7pm. Email greenhavens@yahoo.com for the zoom link if you are interested in attending.

At the meeting, BTO (British Trust Ornithology) will be speaking about their group, what they do and how significant your bird records are for the UK. Then LTY Productions will be giving us an overview about their project at Tidemills. There will be time at the end for any Greenhavens business etc.

Since the last meeting the Greenhavens Network Facebook page has been extremely busy with a Havens Seedy Swap event organised by new member group Seedy Savers in the New Year. If anyone wants to join in please contact the Greenhavens Network Facebook page.

Greenhavens funded a very successful training for their tree warden groups to enable them to safely scan areas before they start planting. This will mean that one of those trained can help other groups in the future. They've also had a donation of equipment from that course which will save quite a bit of money including a CAT Scanner and Men at Work safety signs for all the groups to share.

The group also has enough requests for First Aid training and will fund a session which will be booked in as soon as they're able to and have provisional dates for January.

The group needs volunteers to write articles for their website which is now back up and running. If you fancy writing an article on a project you've run, or have run in the past that's not on the website please let them know.

Email greenhavens@yahoo.com for the zoom link if you are interested in attending.

Kingston Pre-school is a small charity that relies heavily on fundraising and donations to keep the pre-school running.

Kingston Pre-school is currently running a raffle and selling tickets until 10 December; there are lots of great prizes that have been kindly donated.

If any small local businesses would be kind enough to donate some prizes, all prizes will be advertised on the Facebook page and in and around Kingston village and newsletters.

It's a great way for some advertisement for yourselves! Any items are very much appreciated.

If you can help, please  email kingstonpreschool@gmail.com

Thank you!

Peacehaven Town Council has launched a new campaign ‘No child should go without’. The Christmas gift box appeal includes gifts for all age groups. Donations can be dropped off to Community House, Meridian Way, Peacehaven BN10 8BB between 8.00am – 1.00pm Monday – Friday or a money donation would also be welcome. Once the gift donations have been received they will be asking for volunteers to wrap the gifts ready for distribution via the food bank.

How to pack a Christmas gift box

1. find a medium sized box or trainer box and wrap the box and lid separately with Christmas wrapping paper.
Select an age category 2-4, 5-9 or 10-14 and attach the label to the top of your shoebox also mentioning if the gift is for a boy or girl.

2. Fill your giftbox with fun toys, hygiene items, school supplies and other items (a list of ideas can be found below).

3. Please do not seal your giftbox

4. Drop your giftbox off to Community House, Meridian Centre, Meridian Way, BN10 8BB between 9am-1pm Mon-Fri. If you are shielding or cannot drop your giftbox off in these times due to work commitments please call 01273 585493 and we will arrange for collection of your gift box.

Ideas for donating

Toys
Include items that children will immediately love and want to hold such as cuddly toys or dolls, toy trucks, yo-yo, skipping rope, ball, small puzzles etc.

School supplies
Pens, pencils & sharpeners, crayons or felt pens, writing pads or notebooks & paper, solar calculators, colouring & picture books etc.

Hygiene items
Toothbrush, bars of wrapped soap, comb or hairbrush, flannel, Toiletries for teens.

Other items
Hat, cap, gloves or scarf, sunglasses, hair accessories, jewellery set, slinky spring, matchbox cars.

Do not include
Worn, broken or damaged items; war-related items such as toy guns, knives or military figures

If you would like to volunteer to help pack or deliver the gift boxes please complete the volunteer form here.

For more information go to www.peacehaventowncouncil.gov.uk/childrens-christmas-gift-box-appeal

Primary schools that register for Grow Your Own Potatoes (GYOP) 2021 will receive a FREE growing kit containing everything they need, to grow a successful crop.

Launched in 2005, Grow Your Own Potatoes (GYOP) was one of the first primary school based growing projects. Since then, it has become the largest of its kind with over 2 million children taking part in learning where potatoes come from, how they grow and the health benefits. The straightforward and hands-on nature of the GYOP project makes it perfect for young pupils.

Be one of the first to sign up for 2021 and secure your schools kit now. Closing date Friday 22 January 2021.

Please note: If you would like to receive more than one FREE growing kit for your school in 2021, you will need to register separately, with a different email address, for each kit (up to a maximum of 4 kits per school).

Please be aware that ONLY Primary schools in England, Scotland & Wales (5 to 11 year olds) are eligible to take part in the GYOP project and will be allocated kits in 2021.

To register click here: https://growyourownpotatoes.org.uk/about-gyop/register

Residents can give their views on proposals for new cycling and walking networks including a plan to connect Peacehaven, Newhaven and Seaford.

The East Sussex Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) consultation opened on Friday and will close on  Friday, December 11.

Cycling and walking charity Sustrans who helped develop the LCWIP said, “The A259 South Coast Road is a busy and congested corridor and the major source of severance for mobility in Peacehaven.

“Providing a high quality link that allows safe movement both along and across this road will significantly improve Peacehaven for active travel.”

East Sussex county councillor Claire Dowling, lead member for transport and environment, said: “Walking and cycling not only improves people’s health and wellbeing, it can help protect the environment and improve air quality.

“Some people have been able to rethink how they travel since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic with cycling and walking becoming more of an option. We’re keen to put in place infrastructure to support the opportunity to change habits and enable others to find more active and healthy ways to travel.

“It’s vital people take this opportunity to comment and help us create a plan that supports active travel and understands the needs of local communities.”

You can view the plan and take the online survey by visiting the ESCC consultation page.

The Peacehaven and Telscombe Neighbourhood Development Plan Steering Group is looking for examples of well-designed buildings in the area to help inform future developments such as the new town centre on the Meridian site. You can upload photos to the Group’s Facebook or Twitter or email ptsteergroup@yahoo.com.

Nancy Astley of the Steering Group said, “National Design Guidance explains that well-designed buildings where we live, work and play can make us feel safe and secure or give us a sense of excitement or delight. They can affect our well-being and give us a sense of inclusion and community.

“A good design involves careful attention to materials, the palette of colours, how well the design fits in with the surrounding landscape and how well buildings and places can be accessed and used. If you would like to share a good example with us to help inform our work, then please send us a photo.”

The Steering Group is developing a neighbourhood plan which will ensure there are protections and safeguards in place and new developments are better designed and more in keeping with the character of the area.

If you see a building in the area that you like the look of then upload it to the Steering Group’s Facebook or Twitter or email ptsteergroup@yahoo.com.