Nature & biodiversity

It goes without saying that a healthy, vibrant and diverse natural world is key to managing climate change. Nature provides us with a wealth of services for free that are essential to our survival from air filtration and oxygen generation to pollination and water filtration to creating the soil in which we grow our food.

Ecosystems services

For many years, Transition Town Lewes ran the Lewes & Ouse Valley Ecosystem Services (LO&Ve) group, which looked to raise awareness of the many social, well-being and economic benefits that nature provides – and how we can safeguard them. Learn more about L&Ove’s past work here.

Actions to take

  • Bring nature into your home however you can – whether it’s just a window box or a few planters – or even a green roof.
  • If you have a garden, allow some of it to stay a bit wild and unmown to support a greater wealth of creatures and biodiversity.
  • If you have to mow verges and lawns, give wildflowers time to pollinate first.
  • Ponds are fantastic for nature – if you have room, research building one in your garden.
  • If you haven’t any open space of your own, consider joining a group like Wildflower Lewes or Lewes Urban Arboretum to help increase nature around town – details below.

 

Supporting local groups

Today we look to support and promote a number of groups in Lewes involved in different areas of the natural environment – all of which welcome new volunteers and supporters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Railway Land Wildlife Trust

Based in the Linklater Pavilion in Lewes’ Railway Land Nature Reserve, the trust runs a range of projects and activities with residents and local schools and colleges to build understanding of our local natural environment and how to support it.
Photo by Railway Land Wildlife Trust

 

Wildflower Lewes

Across the UK, 97% of our wildflower meadows have been lost since the 1970s, with devastating knock-on effects on the insects that depend on them. Wildflower Lewes is a volunteer group that aims to stem this loss by cultivating more wildflower patches across the town. By providing “stepping stones” that join up isolated habitats it hopes to create a continuous wildlife corridor for insects across the town.

 

Lewes Urban Arboretum

Lewes Urban Arboretum, the trees committee of Friends of Lewes, plants new trees or replace existing ones in order to improve Lewes’ streetscape and support natural habitats. It also monitors, and responds to, all planning applications that include tree works.

 

Useful articles

 

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