OVCA Community-Led Projects

Find out about some of the fantastic Ouse Valley Climate Action Community-Led projects being funded by the National Lottery here.

This page will be updated as the project progresses so remember to check back often!

Click on the community group name to find out more about them.

Green On-Screen

Community Group Lead:
Green United

Project Overview:
Building on the success of Green on Screen 2022. Environmental films to be made, and produced, by young people in partnership with local organisations and screened at The Depot Cinema in Lewes.

View the fantastic videos made by young people at the last Green on Screen.
Youth Citizen Science Air Quality Project on School Routes

Community Group Lead:
Green United

Project Overview:
The aim of this project is to enable all pupils in Lewes to choose and help create safer and cleaner air routes to school, thereby reducing pupils’ exposure to harmful pollution, reducing the chance of road traffic accidents and encouraging other pupils to walk and cycle to school. Activities will include education workshops, mapping exercises, citizen science air quality monitoring, production of a map with findings and recommendations.

One of the learning outcomes of the workshops will be that pupils understand that by walking and cycling to school, instead of coming by car, pupils are likely to be exposed to lower levels of pollution, and will avoid creating CO2 emissions which contribute to climate change. It is therefore hoped that the project will also lead to more active travel and less transport emissions.

Shared learnings will include creation of a toolkit, with the help of the young people involved, so that resources and lessons learned can be shared with schools throughout the Ouse Valley. Monitoring equipment purchased for this project will be made available to other schools to borrow.

This project will also involve local groups with relevant expertise, such as Lewes Living Streets and Cycle Lewes, as suggested by the young people.
Living Coast Undersea Experience

Community Group Lead:
K P Projects

Project Overview:
The Living Coast Undersea Experience is an interactive, virtual reality & 360 film, offering a powerful, kinaestic, educational experience of Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone (Brighton Marina to Beachy Head & on to Hastings), akin to diving.

The Experience opens up one of the UK’s most unique marine environments to everyone, without getting wet! It raises awareness of the Marine Conservation Zone on our doorstep, which is home to one of the world’s only chalk reefs, with unique species of plant & animal life, & which only a fraction of people know about.

TLCUE helps people understand the environment & the things we can all do to help conserve it, encouraging pro conservation, more sustainable behaviours across all walks of life & natural environments.

With National Lottery Funding, through the OVCA Project, the experience will tour to a range of community venues, events & schools across the region, to reach the widest range of people and will be presented free to the public via timed slots. Volunteer induction will support delivery of engagement events including delivery of interactive sessions and a 360 degree film experiences showcasing the local coastal and river environment, threats it faces and ways to help.
Gateway to the Downs – Encouraging on foot exploration of the Downs behind Peacehaven

Community Group Lead:
Peacehaven Town Council

Project Overview:
This project, within Centenary Park in Peacehaven, involves planting native deciduous trees in an avenue leading walkers to a ‘gateway’ into the South Downs and to explore the Downs behind the town.

Along with this 4 themed sculptures will be used as way-marking posts to guide the local community onto the downland footpaths.

A local artist will create the sculptures and will run workshops with the local community, specifically involving local youths.

The first post will be a totem pole with 3 fingers directing people to the paths.

The last 3 will be animals or plants found on the Downs.

A further interpretation panel about downland species and the network of footpaths will be installed at the gateway.
Seaford Environmental Alliance

Community Group Lead:
Seaford Environmental Alliance

Project Overview:
Seaford Environmental Alliance Climate Hub – creating a library of climate action resources for adults and children; resources for outreach workshops/promoting events and community food growing activities.
Lewes Climate Hub

Community Group Lead:
Lewes Climate Hub

Project Overview:
Lewes Climate Hub – supporting expansion of existing activities to a wider audience.
Newhaven Green Centre

Community Group Lead:
Newhaven Green Centre

Project Overview:
Support for the newly formed Newhaven Green Centre CIC.
Greenhavens Network

Community Group Lead:
Greenhavens

Project Overview:
Support & capacity-building for the Greenhavens Network to deliver the Wilder Gardens Programme and Network Events, acting as a beacon for climate action in Newhaven and Peacehaven.
Love Our Ouse

Communities Group Lead:
Love Our Ouse

Project Overview:
River Festival tour across the project area, custodianship water quality testing and community mapping around the river ouse – collecting voices and opinions and building knowledge around what rights of nature movements can do and what communities would like to see in a rights of river charter.
Low-Traffic Lewes

Communities Group Lead:
Cycle Lewes

Project Overview:
Working with a specialist urban movement consultant to engage the Lewes community in designing low-traffic/low carbon solutions to congestion and air quality in Lewes.
Cycle Maps

Communities Group Lead:
Cycle Lewes

Project Overview:
Production and promotion of maps (online & physical) to promote cycling across the Lewes area.
Seaford Community Garden

Communities Group Lead:
Seaford Community Garden

Project Overview:
Pond improvements, flooring for community room and support to re-build volunteer and training capacity following Covid.
Denton Community Garden

Communities Group Lead:
Denton Community Garden

Project Overview:
Working with children from Denton Primary School to design and deliver an accessible, wildlife-friendly garden for the community.
Roots Rising – Peverells Community Garden

Communities Group Lead:
Roots Rising

Project Overview:
Development of new community garden and learning space in Seaford. Guest speakers – encouraging biodiversity, tackling climate change through simple changes at home. Outreach events, family workshops, climate change ambassador activities.
Sutton Downs Growing Project

Communities Group Lead:
Sutton Downs Growing Project

Project Overview:
Growing Project to create nature-friendly spaces around Seaford’s leisure centre with habitat improvements, pollinator planting, community orchard, hedgerow and community growing space. Fundamental to these is the development of schemes for water capture, conservation and management to mitigate the effects of climate change and skill-sharing to create educational growing spaces and resilient practices that engage the community in growing and harvesting food, and understanding the value of nature in wellbeing.
Growing Together – Newhaven

Communities Group Lead:
Growing Together Newhaven

Project Overview:
Biodiversity Boosters monthly volunteer events to maintain and improve a community garden and Harbour Heights nature reserve in central Newhaven. To include sea buckthorn and pond plants to encourage biodiversity and sequester carbon, tool hire and ecological advice.
Kingston Action Group Community Allotment

Communities Group Lead:
Kingston Action Group

Project Overview:
Enhancement of former allotment as a natural garden to promote ecology and green corridors in the centre of Kingston Village. Working with the village primary school to promote understanding of plants and their crucial role in the environment to foster the children’s appreciation of plants in the food chain [eg growing herbs & vegetables].
Peacehaven Community Orchard

Communities Group Lead:
Peacehaven Community Orchard

Project Overview:
Increased shelter from extreme weather at this semi-established community orchard in Peacehaven’s Centenary Park. Interplanting between the apple trees with a mixture of native species of shrubs and plants to act as a shelter belt, sequestering carbon and mitigating increased storminess. Planting days, wildlife surveys, training and events to teach the local community about the orchard and the importance of wildlife.
Ringmer Community Orchard

Communities Group Lead:
Ringmer Community Orchard

Project Overview:
Workshop preparation, publicity and facilitation for monthly skills and engagement sessions working in the orchard with local schools and residents. Adult engagement to target low income households and people at risk of offending, working with specialist providers.
Riverside Park

Communities Group Lead:
Friends of Riverside Park

Project Overview:
Riverside Park in Newhaven – Pollinator planting and sensory planting benches for visually-impaired visitors, specifically requested by users.
Seaford Swifts

Communities Group Lead:
Seaford Swifts

Project Overview:
Materials for making swift boxes, CD’s of swift sounds for attracting birds, installation of swift boxes in Seaford, workshops and free training for local people to make swift boxes and learn about swift conservation, how swifts are impacted by climate change and the importance of the local swift population.
Lewes Swifts

Communities Group Lead:
Lewes Swift Supporters

Project Overview:
Installation of swift boxes in Lewes, event teaching about swifts in the local area, climate change and their conservation. Postcard invitations to householders where swifts are nesting/with suitable nest sites to get involved.
Trees for Seaford/On The Verge

Communities Group Lead:
Trees for Seaford/On The Verge

Project Overview:
A suite of nature recovery projects across Seaford, working with residents to deliver street trees, wildflower verges & nature-friendly gardening including practical and theoretical tree training, biodiversity and wildlife sessions, fruit tree sessions, survey and planting kits and community information boards.
Lewes Urban Aboretum

Communities Group Lead:
Friends of Lewes

Project Overview:
Working with residents to plant 30 mature trees on publicly accessible land/street verges within the town. To sequester carbon, provide street shade, reduce water run-off, improve air-quality and boost biodiversity.