Did you know that as a flagship event of Nature 2020, the Brighton & Lewes Downs Biosphere (The Living Coast) will be competing for the first time in the City Nature Challenge with 250+ other locations across six continents?

The aim is to help connect people with local nature by finding and recording as much wildlife as possible between the 24th and 27th April 2020. Using iNaturalist app we’re encouraging everyone to take part – residents and visitors, young and old, experienced naturalists and curious beginners.

We need your help making the Biosphere’s City Nature Challenge a success and to help us showcase the amazing nature we have within the Biosphere and right on your doorstep. If you can help promote the challenge, make observations, host community events or help identify species, we would like to hear from you.

If you and/or your organisation would like to be involved in running an event, you can register it here: If you require further information at this stage, then please do get in touch. 

Many thanks and best wishes,

Your Local City Nature Challenge team.

Also don’t forget our Greenhavens Network meeting which this quarter has some fantastic expert speakers in the field of recording!

Clare Blencow is from Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre. This Record Centre, one of many round the UK, is managed as a partnership project, hosted by the Sussex Wildlife Trust. Partners include local planning authorities, government agencies, conservation bodies and other organisations which need access to up-to-date biodiversity information, such as water companies.

Sussex has a vibrant and energetic biological recording community with many independent recording groups and societies. By strengthening relationships with these groups, and the wider network of naturalists, ecologists and recording schemes active in Sussex, the Record Centre facilitates sharing of ever-greater amounts of biodiversity data.

One of our network groups “Friends of Castle Hill Reserve” also have expert volunteers with great expertise with identifying and recording species found at the site. We hear more from Steve Teale at our meeting. (You can read more about Castle Hill on our website!)

There will also be opportunities for general networking and for representatives to give a 60 second message from their community groups!

Do come along if you can, we look forward to seeing you at the Meridian Centre, Peacehaven (7-9pm). There is a facebook invite here