Community Groups
Within Greenhavens we have over 85 community groups working in some shape and form in our green spaces. These groups are passionate and enthusiastic about their green spaces, they exist to look after them, reaching out to inspire as many people that they can. They want to share the wildlife, the healthy food, the beautiful flowers, the exhilaration from walking etc. with you.
These groups are made up of hundreds of volunteers, our unsung heroes, who collectively provide thousands and thousands of hours of their free time. They do it because they care, to make friends, to keep healthy, to learn new skills – all the time falling in love with what’s so beautiful around them.
Imagine what our green spaces would look like without them? Imagine no activities going on that you could get involved in? Or even more tragically that they disappear forever, neglected and unloved.
Get involved and feel good – contact your local group below and see what a difference you can make to yourself and your green spaces.
3VA has a vital role to play and makes a positive impact in the communities we serve. We champion our local voluntary sector – the charities, social enterprises and communities making such a difference to people’s lives. These dynamic voluntary organisations of all shapes and sizes make up the members in our extensive network. Find out more by browsing our membership directory and join 3VA if you haven’t already!
Email: Lee.Shepherd@vces.org.uk
The Brighton & Hove Green Spaces Forum is an over-arching support organisation for over 80 green space volunteer groups based in the City. It facilitates communication between groups, together with access to training and other resources.
Contact: Cliff Munn
Email: bhgsforum@gmail.com
CAN Seeks to empower local people to take part in planning processes for Newhaven. They campaign for Clean Green Newhaven as promised in planning documents and strategies for the area.
Contact: Emily O’Brien
Email: communityactionnewhaven@gmail.com
Lead contact: David Crozier, Station Manager Newhaven NCI
Part of the national charity, National Coastwatch Institution (NCI), which staffs 54 lookouts around the UK coastline with over 2500 trained volunteer watchkeepers. Assists HM Coastguard in the preservation of life at sea and along our coastline. Operates the lookout on Castle Hill 365 days a year.
Email: david.crozier@nci.org.uk
Residents group on Trafalgar/Collingwood Estate Peacehaven, who wish to make green spaces more pleasurable for the local community by setting up a Community garden on the spine path.
Contact: Lizzie Hornsbury
Email: communityconnectorsproject@gmail.com
Contact: Richard Potter
Email: richardkpotter@yahoo.co.uk
Cycling without age is to enable those who are socially isolated, or struggling with mobility, to get back out into our beautiful environment and feel the wind in their hair again. We ride specially battery assisted bikes with a double seat upfront.
Contact: Mary Hawes
Email: seafordcwa@gmail.com
The Society maintains East Blatchington Pond as an amenity for all to enjoy. Our members are volunteers and give their time freely to ensure the pond is kept in good condition, with spring bulbs and wild flowers, areas for wildlife including an island used by waterfowl, and seating around the periphery.
East Blatchington Pond is located at the junction of Avondale Road and Sutton Drove, Seaford.
Lead contact: Vaughan Reynolds
We are a community based organisation set up in 2011 to develop a largely off-road riverside, path, for cyclists and other non-motorised users, connecting Lewes and Newhaven with links to villages and places of interest in the beautiful landscape of the lower Ouse Valley; a safe path for all ages and abilities to be shared by a wide range of users.
Substantial sections have been constructed in phases but there are still some vital gaps to be closed which will happen when funding allows.
Contact: Neville Harrison
Email:info@egretsway.org.uk
At Harbour Primary School we promote primary school aged children in using green spaces and experience in growing plants.
Contact: Olivia Mellor
Lead contact: Graham
Email: Thyone.Outram@lewes-eastbourne.gov.uk
Friends of Chatsworth Park is a group set up for anyone who enjoys the park and wants to keep up with what is happening.
Contact: David Seabrook
Email: davesea@outlook.com
Contact No: 07973864340
We cover the coastal area between the highway Newhaven and the sea. Bordered by Peacehaven to the west and Castle Hill Nature Reserve to the east. We aim to conserve the natural habitat and challenge proposed land use.
Lead contact: Julia Brock
Email: juliabrock@hotmail.co.uk
Contact no: 07710856562
Email: davesea@outlook.com for more information.
Working with landowners (ESCC, LDC, NTC) to ensure that the Park and Valley ponds are managed in such a way, as to provide a leisure space for the local community, whilst improving habitats and biodiversity of species on both sites.
Contact: Lesley Boniface
Email: mrsboniface@hotmail.co.uk
Our aim is to protect the public green spaces in and around Saltdean from development, and to work with the local authorities, to make them diverse and useable.
Email: saltdeanra@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/Friends-Of-Saltdean-Green-Spaces-2115129092050254/
The Old Brickfield is situated at the western edge of Seaford. It occupies a former tidal inlet and had an industrial past when clay for brick making was extracted from the site. Today it provides an interesting habitat for different species of animal, insect and vegetation and has been designated a site of nature conservation interest (SNCI). The site is owned and managed by Lewes District Council in partnership with the Friends of the Old Brickfield Group.
Our aim is to maintain and enhance the wildlife habitat on the site. We conduct wildlife surveys and maintain the Brickfield’s small pond. Each summer we hold a picnic to encourage families to visit the Brickfield and explore its abundant wildlife
Lead contact: Thyone Outram (Lewes Ranger)
Email: thyone.outram@lewes.gov.uk
Phone: 01273 484344
The South Downs National Park has it all – from rolling hills, glorious heathland, river valleys and ancient woodland to the iconic white cliffs of the Heritage Coast – an area of inspirational beauty that can lift the soul.
Covering over 1600 km² of breath-taking views and hidden gems, you will discover stunning, panoramic scenery stretching to the sea and across the weald as you travel the 100 mile length of the South Downs Way from Winchester to Eastbourne, culminating in the impressive chalk cliffs at Seven Sisters. The park has been shaped by the activities of its farmers and foresters, its large estates and communities, its charities and local businesses and includes internationally important wildlife, cultural heritage and lively market towns and villages.
The ‘Friends of the South Downs’ are the membership charity, to campaign, protect and conserve the landscape of the park, so that it can be enjoyed by everyone, for future generations.
We organise over 200 interesting and varied walks each year throughout the beautiful South Downs, together with a range of educational coach trips and activities to promote our cultural heritage.
Our volunteers and members support a huge array of projects, (such as replacing stiles with swing gates and repairing the South Downs Way) to help improve access enjoyment of the landscape and to preserve the South Downs for future generations.
