Changing Chalk events and activities
From workshops and walks to festivals and archaeological digs, to celebrations of nature and our cultural heritage, there's a host of Changing Chalk events and activities to celebrate the chalk grasslands of the eastern South Downs over the next few years. Here's what to expect from the National Trust and our partners.
Nature and Biodiversity
Throughout the year our Chalk Life Rangers are on hand to share their passion for the plants and wildlife of the South Downs, offering nature walks and talks at our various sites. Find out more about our bugs, butterflies, bats, birds and more.
Buglife
Our partners at Buglife run regular pollinator workshops at various sites across the South Downs. Booking on these is essential.
In July volunteers got involved with surveys to track the progress of the Wart-biter Bush-cricket. This stunning insect is incredibly rare and known to be living in just six sites in the UK, four of which are within the Changing Chalk project area.
To find out more about forthcoming activities and events please email Conservation Officer, Alice Parfitt or visit the Buglife website here
National Trust
There are seasonal nature walks and volunteer days at Southwick Hill. Led by our expert rangers, this is a chance to see wildlife in its natural habitat. You'll be amazed how much there is to see right on the edge of town. In summer there are bird and butterfly walks while early autumn sees bat walks running. To find out more about these events please email Chalk Life Ranger Thyone Outram
Railway Land Wildlife Trust
Find out more about the activities organised by the Railway Land Wildlife Trust who run regular nature walks and volunteer sessions at Landport Bottom in Lewes and Butts Brow and Meadow near Eastbourne.
Waterhall
At Waterhall, a decommisioned golf course just outside Brighton, there are regular walks and talks and chances to get up close to nature and see how the rewilding is going. There are also regular volunteer sessions. You can find out what's on here.
Wild Camp
In June 2024 the Changing Chalk team hosted a Wild Camp with Stay Up Late and Gig Buddies Sussex The camp took place at Frog Firle farm and was a great success.
The aim of Wild Camp was to create an inclusive and accessible outdoor experience for people with all abilities and backgrounds. Everyone got together to connect with nature, relax and have fun. The event was really successful and included lots of our Changing Chalk partners, who came to run workshops and gave their time and energy to make the camp a real success.
The National Trust rangers ran a bat detecting workshop, The farmer at Frog Firle gave us a great talk about farming life, we ate a delicious meal with meat from Sussex Grazed and took part in archaeology and pond dipping workshops with Will from Froglife
At night we danced to a silent disco and were fascinated by Moths that the Changing Chalk rangers caught in their moth traps.
A great time was had by all and we hope to be able to repeat the camp again.
Glorious Gayles Festival
In July 2023 Gayles Farm held a festival celebrating the history of the site and showcase the work Changing Chalk is doing to create a green corridor and enhance the area's biodiversity.
During WW2, the skies around RAF Friston at Gayles Farm rang with the sound of Spitfires and Hurricane aircraft. In the lead up to D-Day, 1400 airmen and WAAFs were stationed here. In 1944 over 300 planes landed – many of them on the emergency landing strip. Imagine heading back after a raid, low on fuel, maybe damaged; you see the chalk cliffs, then Friston airfield and safety.
Now it’s a farm again with just the sound of skylarks, lambs and the occasional tractor. This part of the South Downs is famous for rare chalk grassland habitat; the grassland near the cliffs and surrounding the farm supports orchids, special chalk grassland plants and downland butterflies such as the blues and dark green fritillaries.
For many years Gayles Farm has been an arable farm but, as part of the Changing Chalk project, we’ve been changing its use, so it provides a biodiverse stepping-stone for the chalkland wildlife. We have planted the old runways with a meadow grassland mix full of wildflowers. This will help wildlife move across the landscape while the farm provides good food for its animals that maintain the chalk grassland.
We held the Glorious Gayles Festival in July 2023 to celebrate thousands of years of history, and experience nature and farming in this area.
Visitors could walk through the wildflower meadows or ride past them in a cart drawn by a Gypsy cob horse. There were nature talks, bug hunts, hands-on archaeology opportunites and art and craft activities. Experts were on hand to talk about the history of the airfield and a local farmer brought their sheep, goats and tractor and were on hand to talk about farming on the Downs. All in all this was a great day to learn a lot about the South Downs’ chalk grasslands.
History and Archaeology
People have lived on the South Downs for thousands of years, leaving a landscape packed with amazing history.
Changing Chalk: Heritage on the Downs Conference
Saturday 6th September 2025
Kings Church, Lewes
FREE ENTRY
| 9.00-9.30am | Registration | Sign in/teas and coffees |
| 9.30-9.50am | Gary Webster | Introduction/ Changing Chalk |
| 9.50-10.20am | Thyone and Rebecca | Petals and Wings: Exploring Chalk Grassland Nature |
| 10.20-11.05am | Paul Aquina | Barrow and Bostall: A study of Anglo-Saxon burial mounds through their relationship with trackways on the East Sussex Downs |
| 11.05-11.30am | Break | Coffee & biscuits |
| 11.30-12.15pm | Jo Seaman | (Not) Written in Stone: How the graffitti in St Mary's Church led to a reinterpretation of the history of a Downland Town |
| 12.15-1.00pm | David Rudling | Sussex Downs in Roman Times |
| 1.00-2.00pm | Lunch | |
| 2.00-2.45pm | Brian Drury | Mill Hill, Shoreham-by-sea military activity during WW1 & WW2 |
| 2.45-3.30pm | Simon Cooper | Heritage on the Downs: Brighton & Hove Archaeological Society's contribution to the story |
| 3.30-3.50pm | Break | Coffee & Biscuits |
| 3.50-4.35pm | Robert Williams | A Possible Church at Frog Firle |
| 4.35-5.00pm | Gary Webster | Upcoming Events/Closing |
Please sign up via the booking form here Booking Form
The Big Dig
In June 2023, our partners at Heritage Eastbourne ran The Big Dig where people in Eastbourne dug archaeological test pits in their gardens and three public sites. With Dig HQ in Motcombe Gardens there was a real festival feel with a range of activities to enjoy, from flint knapping to Mediaeval music.
If you missed the Big Dig, there will be future opportunities to take part in our archaeology events that we will post here and on our social media pages.
National Trust
Our own Heritage Officer, Gary Webster, gave an online talk about archaeology on the South Downs in July 2023. This is part of the Archaeology Council's event 'An Evening with National Trust Archaeologist'.
Gary also organises regular walks and talks as part of Monument Mentors. To find out more or get involved you can email Gary Webster, Heritage Officer.
South Downs Cultural Heritage
Exhibition: Stopping Down Memory Lane
The Changing Chalk travelling exhibition, Stopping Down Memory Lane, celebrates the rich cultural heritage of Gypsies and Travellers in the South Downs.
The exhibition features a film based on the making of a totemic Gypsy cob horse sculpture, an iconic canvas tapestry created by the communities, stopping places maps, traditional songs and historic records, bringing to life the stories and traditions of Travelling people and how they have contributed to this landscape.
Led by the National Trust and supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the exhibition was developed through the Changing Chalk partnership in collaboration with Gypsies and Travellers. It aims to honour the creativity, voice and deep connection to the land that these communities have brought to the Eastern South Downs for generations.
Stopping Down Memory Lane opens on
- 15 August -10th September at Skyway Gallery, Shoreham,
- 23 September- 5th October, Jubilee Library, Brighton
- 4 December -20th December BN9 Studio, Newhaven
Find out more here
Stepping into the Downs: Free Guided Walk at Devil's Dyke
Friday 29 August 2025
13.00-15.30pm
Join us for a FREE 3 mile guided walk from Devil's Dyke to Poynings and Saddlescombe Farm, celebrating the rich and vibrant histories of Gypsy and Traveller communities on the South Downs. As part of Devil's Dyke Discovery Week, this walk offers an opportunity to explore the landscape through the stories and traditions of those who have long called it home.
Led by Gypsy historian Janet Keet-Black. the walk will trace traditional local Stopping Places and uncover the lived experiences and cultural contributions of Gypsies and Travellers who stopped, worked and lived in the Devil's Dyke area, bringing a rich and colourful heritage to life.
The walk will culminate with an optional after event at Saddlescombe Farm, for light refreshements and traditional entertainment.
Shuttle bus back to Devil's Dyke.
Sign up via the booking form here. Booking Form
Cultural Heritage Forge Day
The South Downs have a rich and vibrant cultural heritage. For hundreds of years, the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities have lived, worked and travelled on the South Downs, working the land or at the funfair that used to run at Devil’s Dyke in Victorian times. Our Forge Day at Devil's Dyke in June 2023 was part of Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month with visitors helping to create 'Prissy', a life-size iron Gypsy Cob sculpture that, once complete, will be sited on the South Downs.
Prissy’s creator, Romany blacksmith, Jake Bowers, brought the sculpture and his travelling forge to Devil’s Dyke to give people the opportunity to forge part of her mane. Alongside Prissy were real-life Gypsy cobs, Sapphire and Cherokee, who were happy to meet the people at the event. Cultural auditor, Kate Richardson, and Janet Keet-Black, a member of the community, Gypsy historian and author of ‘Gypsies of Britain’ were also there, explaining more about the intimate links between the community and the Downs and how to search the records to trace where they travelled over the years.
Writing Our Legacy
Our partners at Writing our Legacy host a number of seasonal workshops where you can get creative, inspired by the South Downs. You can find their events listings here and, to get more information, you also get in contact by email.
Courses
Growing New Roots
Our partners at the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership are running 'Wellbeing in Nature' courses throughout the year. These are aimed at people with mental health issues and are a series of workshops that help bring people in contact with nature and the South Downs. These sessions vary geographically. There is a taster day and a series of autumn workshops beginning in October for people living in the coastal towns in East Sussex. More details are available here.
Countryside Skills Sessions
One of the main aims of Changing Chalk is to build links that help make people feel closer to the countryside. Thanks to our project, Find Your Future, we're helping young people feel a stronger connection to the chalk grasslands while learning new skills for work and life.
Find your Future is a stepping stones project that allows young people to see what life is like working in countryside management by participating in a range of outdoor activities and getting involved with different Changing Chalk projects. To find out about upcoming sessions please contact Project Manager, Josie Jeffery.