River Ouse Restoration Project at Sheffield Park

We have a brand new display up in our woodland gallery, which is nestled inside Ringwood Toll natural play area. The photos were all taken to document the ongoing River Ouse Restoration Project supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and were captured by the Hookstead Photography Group. Hookstead in nearby Crowborough is an East Sussex County Council run Day Support Service for adults with a Learning Disability. We were delighted that the group came to see their pictures up and to help us celebrate the new display.

Our free art trail is now open to guide you across the parkland to the wooden bridges over the River Ouse. Inspired by the landscape around us, the trail has been created by local schools and artists using locally sourced materials.

As part of the project, our gardens team have constructed scrapes (or shallow flooded areas) to attract wading birds. We carefully selected damp and seasonally flooded sites to offer the best habitats, and have already been rewarded with the sighting of a Green Sandpiper. We are also excited to have seen a Skylark and Yellowhammers around the scrapes - both of which are RSPB red list birds of conservation concern. The wetlands are the ideal spot for bird lovers to enjoy a walk by the river- don’t forget to let us know on social media what you have spotted #sheffieldpark! Monitoring the bird populations here at Sheffield Park is really important, both for planning our management work and helping understand the status of bird species across the country. We are currently undertaking professional bird surveys in the area.