Gatwick Greenspace Partnership - things to celebrate from 2024
Tamara Jewell
Gatwick Greenspace Partnership Manager
Facilitating people connecting with nature and taking action for wildlife has kept GGP busy again in 2024 with over 250 volunteering and educational events and over 5000 volunteer hours given throughout the year.
Never let it be said that we sit on our laurels. Alongside all the usual business, this year, Community Project Officer Kevin Lerwill has added another string to his bow. Outside of his normal remit of adult volunteering, Kevin collaborated with the Wilder Learning team and The Oaks Primary school in Crawley and was surprised to discover how much 11 year olds can achieve when let loose to carry out work on the heathland at Tilgate Park.
I strayed from my comfort zone attending a school assembly for the first time to talk about the work of the project after the children nominated us for a donation. I also took part in a Local Nature Recovery Network webinar with a presentation highlighting the brilliant work being done by young people taking action for nature in Sussex.
Partnership Officer Barry Wildish has found he has a talent for inspiring young people with his passion for conservation, engaging, amongst others, Wildlife Rangers and Sussex University at Gatwick and over 13 000 students online in webinars describing his work.
A highlight for Barry was having all GGP team attend an event at Gatwick for Work Experience students. Despite a day of heavy rain, there were smiles all round and we all pulled together as a team to give the young adults a day to remember.
Kevin’s highlight has been installing a number of leaky dams in Owlbeech Woods, which will help to slow the flow of water and create seasonal ponds for wildlife after heavy rainfall. These are very popular with the volunteers, relatively quick and easy to build in suitable areas and recreate the effect that Beavers have in the wild.
A highlight for me was a wonderful day collaborating with Sussex Wildlife Trust's Forest School training. We spent a day with 70 TKAT headteachers from 45 schools who joined us from their conference to observe 11 Forest school trainees working with 60 children of Hilltop primary school. TKAT is one of the largest Multi-Academy Trusts in the South and East of England so this event was a great opportunity to showcase the power in connecting children with nature. After observing the magic Forest School was having on the children, we followed with the head teachers themselves taking part in Forest School activities. It was great to see these adults playing in the woods, and was a brilliant opportunity to demonstrate the power of outdoor education.
September was a whirlwind of hosting with our 30-year celebrations and a number of other events and staff meetings for Sussex Wildlife Trust.
Reflecting on 30 years has really hammered home how special this project is. Touching base with friends of GGP past and present and reflecting on the benefits of a myriad of long-term relationships has been very rewarding and reminds us of the power of this project.
We are happy to report that our work remains at the cutting edge of Sussex Wildlife Trust's strategy, as the Director of Communities recently wrote in a blog after visiting GGP with the senior leadership team:
“The GGP team is doing amazing work to deliver Our Wild Sussex strategy, connecting people with nature, working with diverse audiences and supporting 30 by 30. Their approach demonstrates our values of collaboration through building strong partnerships, inclusive engagement, and their passion really shines through in everything they do.”