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Changing Chalk Resources

Published:: 08 July 2026

A common milkwort flower in chalk grassland — Common milkwort in the chalk grassland of Southwick Hill | © Natalie Barb

Changing Chalk produced a wide range of resources, toolkits, research outputs, case studies and digital content to support learning, encourage collaboration and help people continue exploring, understanding and caring for the eastern South Downs and beyond. Here you'll find key resources developed through the programme and by our partners.

Discover The Downs on Your Doorstep Map

A downloadable illustrated map of places to visit and ideas for exploring the eastern South Downs close to home.

Download the Downs on Your Doorstep Map

Case Studies

Explore our dedicated Case Studies page where you'll find practical examples, learning and best practice from projects across Changing Chalk.

Changing Chalk Case Studies Page

Restoring Chalkland Biodiversity

Chalk Grassland Landowner Resource

Grazing Project - South Downs National Park Authority

An illustrated guide to managing chalk grassland. This guide can be used by landowners when out on their sites, and provides typical chalk grassland species to look out for and recommendations for grazing rotations.

Chalk grassland landowner resource - an illustrated guide to managing chalk grassland

Managing Vineyards For Invertebrates Advice Sheet

Sustainable Vineyards - Buglife

Sustainable Vineyards worked with vineyard owners and managers from a growing vineyard industry in the Changing Chalk project area to see how they can help our wild insect pollinators

Managing vineyards for beneficial invertebrates

Farming for Conservation Resource Pack

Sussex Grazed - Brighton and Hove Food Partnership

Designed for farmers and graziers who use grazing to support habitat recovery and improve grassland landscapes.

Farming for Conservation Resource Pack

Scrub Clearance Research Report

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

The team at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank studied how to restore chalk grassland using seeds at two different sites on the South Downs

Report | The changing chalk; seed sowing promotes calcareous grassland restoration following scrub clearance.

Local Wildlife Sites Report

Changing Chalk Local Wildlife Sites - Sussex Wildlife Trust

As part of Changing Chalk the Sussex Local Wildlife sites initiative surveyed and reviewed 30 Local wildlife sites containing calcareous grassland from across the project area

Report: A summary of the results of condition assessments carried out on 26 Local Wildlife Sites

our archaeology apprentice, Kayleigh, up a hill on a very windy day — Out on Mount Caburn near Lewes getting ready for Monument Mentors | © National Trust / Gary Webster

Connecting Downs and Towns

Devil's Dyke Discovery Trail

National Trust

A circular walk around the Iron Age hillfort at Devil's Dyke. Along the way, short videos reveal the stories of the landscape, its wildlife and the people connected to it.

Find out more here: Devil's Dyke Discovery Trail

Ditchling Beacon QR Trail

National Trust

A a short digital trail at Ditchling Beacon about the history and archaeology of this special place.

Ditchling Beacon South Downs QR Trail - Step 1 Welcome to Ditchling Beacon

Farm School Countryside Code Film

Brighton & Hove City Council

The Farm School project made a Countryside Code film, involving both children and farmers.

Watch it here: The Farm School Countryside Code

Volunteers working on the white horse at Litlington — Volunteers working on the white chalk horse sculpture at Litlington, South Downs | © Dan Fagan

Hearts and Histories of the Downs

Downs from Above Portal

National Trust and Historic England

Over 190km sq of archaeology has been mapped using an archive of over 100 years of aerial photos and Lidar data. Explore the data in the interactive Downs from Above portal

Downs from Above aerial mapping - digital portal

Research Report: Downs from Above. Aerial Survey of the South Downs north of Brighton 2023

Monument Mentors Toolkits

National Trust

Practical guidance and learning from the Monument Mentors project, supporting volunteers and organisations involved in caring for scheduled monuments and engaging communities with heritage.

Monument Mentors project

Monument Monitoring Toolkit Level 1

Monument Monitoring Toolkit Level 2

The Big Dig Resources

History Stories and Eastbourne Borough Council

The Big Dig community archaeology project produced a range of resources including a learning pack for schools, test pit training guides, excavation reports and digitised exhibition materials.

Explore the Big Dig Resources here

Writing Our Legacy at Changing Chalk Anthology

Writing Our Legacy

From the rolling chalk grasslands of the South Downs to the hidden corners of personal memory, this anthology brings together the work of thirty-six Black, Asian and ethnically diverse creators, capturing four years of collaborative storytelling.

Writing Out Legacy at Changing Chalk Anthology (digital)

Video Guide to Exploring Your Local Archives

Cultural Heritage Project - National Trust

The project produced this video guide: Discovering Gypsy and Traveller Histories in the South Downs: a guide to accessing your local archives

Watch the video below

Changing Chalk Cultural Archive Guide

The ‘Discover Your History’ guide is an accessible learning tool for members of the Gypsy & Traveller communities and the general public to use as an aid to accessing records held at the Keep, an archive in Brighton & Hove, which holds all of East Sussex’s records.

This video is hosted by YouTube

Early Morning View of the Seven Sisters and Birling Gap at Low Tide

Find out more about the Changing Chalk partnership here

Changing Chalk was a four-year landscape-scale partnership programme from 2022 to 2026 that brought together nature, people and heritage across the eastern South Downs, from Shoreham to Eastbourne. Led by the National Trust, 13 partner organisations worked together to deliver 21 interconnected projects and a Community Grants Scheme that restored rare chalk grassland, improved access to nature, uncovered hidden heritage and celebrated the stories that make this landscape unique.

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