On 30 June Ferring Conservation Group had another talk by Sussex historian Chris Horlock – on some of the curious things to be seen in the county’s churches and graveyards, on village signs, in records of its folklore, old recipes and health cures.

He began with St Bartholomew’s Church in Brighton, an enormous building, in brick. A photograph of it under construction in 1874 showed how it dwarfed all its neighbours, including all other churches in the town. Rather dull on the outside, the interior was a ‘High Church’ masterpiece of architecture and decoration – more like a cathedral than a parish church. He went from there to possibly the smallest church in England at Lullington, near Alfriston, a mere 16ft by 16ft. And on to Isfield. Burton, Boxgrove, each with curious features, and the gravestone at Walberton depicting a tree falling on the deceased and our own carrier-pigeon memorial in Worthing.

Chris moved on to Sussex health cures, including mistletoe tea, red flannel dressings, keeping a potato in your pocket, swallowing live frogs and ‘bumping the corpse’ to revive the apparently dead; then to some enigmatic village signs and some very strange recipes. It was a fascinating collection of photographs, facts and anecdotes from the Sussex heritage that needs conservation just as much as its countryside and wildlife.

Also, very enjoyable was the news from the Court of Appeal, only a few hours earlier, that Persimmon had lost their case on Chatsmore Farm – their last opportunity to overturn Worthing Council’s refusal of the developer’s application for a 485-house estate in the north Goring Gap. Ed Miller said this was a landmark judgment which would protect the other green spaces along Littlehampton Road.

On a return visit to Ferring Conservation Group Stuart Card gave an interesting and informative presentation, this time on Barn Owls and the vital work that is being carried out by the Sussex Barn Owl Study Group under the umbrella of the Sussex Ornithology Society.

Stuart shared his enthusiasm for this attractive little owl and began by advising members that populations had declined (it is believed that changing agricultural practices and the development of barns and old buildings could be the cause of this) while the introduction of owl nesting boxes is helping the species and encouragingly they are now recovering.

Stuart advised the audience that it is crucial to maintain ongoing and consistent monitoring of the Sussex Barn Owl population. The Study Group regularly ring birds and record their nest sites and are always on the lookout for volunteers to help erect new nest boxes. With around 90% of Barn Owls now breeding in nest boxes stringent management will enable these charming birds to thrive and increase in number.

Barn Owls are avid hunters and scour open grassland for small mammals such as voles, mice, shrews and rats assisted by their incredible long-distance vision, sensitive hearing and silent flight. Female Barn Owls are larger than males and usually breed between March and August (this usually depends on food supply). Around 4 to 6 eggs are laid, hatching just over a month later and chicks are ready to fledge at around two months old.

Graham Tuppen took to the floor after a break for refreshments with news that he had ventured up to Highdown Gardens and had been amazed at the flowers of the Handkerchief Tree with its beautiful white flowers on display, his photograph did indeed look just like handkerchiefs hanging on its branches. Graham reported that Comfrey was growing amongst the Cow Parsley on the banks of the Rife and the Blackthorn and Hawthorn were in bloom. Yellow Flag Iris were in the Lagoons and Marsh Orchids were on display in this area too. A Mallard Duck with 4 ducklings were seen plus Moorhens with their young but sadly there had been a report of an injured Little Owl in the Plantation. There had also been a sighting of 3 dolphins around 200 metres out to sea off the Bluebird Café area of the beach.

Ed Miller concluded the May meeting with a planning update and advised the Group that a planning application had been submitted to Arun DC for rebuild of a property in Ferring Close and at 1, Sea Drive an additional house in the back garden. Ed advised that Persimmon were still awaiting a decision from the Court of Appeal regarding their further appeal.

Ed reported that apart from these it was ‘All quiet on the Western and Eastern Front’.

Alex New the Plant Heritage Curator at Highdown Gardens came along to the Group’s April meeting not only to educate members regarding the wonderful collection of rare plants adorning the Gardens, but also to bring to life the fascinating history of this valued and unique chalk garden.

To an audience of 90 members and visitors Alex conveyed his extensive knowledge and demonstrating a keen sense of humour enthralled the Group with the colourful story of the many people who have contributed to this special place over the years.

In 1909 aristocratic banker Frederick Stern moved to the area and rented Highdown Tower with the intention of breeding racehorses. Stern married a lady called Sybil and the couple shared their time between the South Coast retreat and London. Soon Stern developed a passion, which eventually became an obsession, collecting plant specimens from worldwide destinations. Stern also commandeered other plant hunters such as George Forrest, Dora Stafford and Frank Kingdon-Ward to name but a few.

Whilst creating many hybrid flowers the couple became expert plant propagators and Stern became a member of the RHS and Sybil a suffragist activist for the Liberal Party. The fame of Highdown Gardens grew and by the 1930s botanists, plant hunters, gardeners, scientists and indeed the Royal Family were regular visitors.

During WW2 Stern became Group Commander of the West Sussex Home Guard and promoted to Colonel. Sybil was awarded the Victoria Medal of Honour (Horticulture). With his vast knowledge of plants Stern became interested in counting plant chromosomes and began learning techniques from scientists and eventually converting the cellar at Highdown into a laboratory.

In 1956 Stern was knighted for his services to horticulture and in 1960 published a much acclaimed book entitled ‘A Chalk Garden’ – passing away in 1967 aged 83 years. In 1968 Lady Sybil donated Highdown Gardens to Worthing Town Council but died just four years later. The couple’s legacy is the beautiful Chalk Garden at Highdown that can still be enjoyed by visitors today.

In recent years more than £800,000 of lottery funding has enabled staff to make significant improvements enabling garden experts to catalogue, preserve and propagate the hundreds of rare species that grow in this important Garden. The welcome addition of a new visitor’s centre and walkways have all been created, along with a wheelchair accessible sensory garden.

A short AGM followed a break for refreshments with Chairman David Bettiss giving thanks to Michael Brown, the Group’s former Membership Secretary, for his significant contribution who has now sadly resigned from the committee due to poor health. The remaining committee members were re-elected unopposed, with Peter Coe being elected as a new member.

A Nature Notes session presented by Graham Tuppen followed the AGM with news of Common Whitethroats, Moorhens, a Water Vole and a Mallard Duck’s nest (just above the water level) being spotted along the banks of the Rife. The first Swallows of the year had been seen. A white Starling was spotted amongst a flock foraging near the Rife (this is caused by of lack of melanin – a pigment responsible for black and grey colouring in the feathers). Graham informed the audience that the Bluebells were all out in Patching Woods and a Nature Walk was planned there on 4^th May.

To conclude the meeting Ed Miller was able to advise members that planning applications for a property at The Grove had been refused permission by Arun DC together with ‘Haystacks’ in Sea Lane. The Group were jubilant to hear that the housing estates proposed at Kingston Lane, Kingston and also at Highdown Vineyard had also been refused.

Ferring Conservation Group were treated to an accomplished presentation by three very able students from St Oscar Romero School in Goring-by-Sea at the Group’s March meeting, accompanied by their teacher Mr Phil Dean.

This event marked the beginning of a joint venture where FCG and the school will work together on projects, learning from each other as they go.

Elliot Meakins, T Chaffer and Robson Seljan are all members of the ‘Fingerprint Ambassadors’ which initially had 4 members and swiftly grew to over 40, all with the same aspirations to work towards a sustainable and environmentally aware future.
Elliot began by explaining why ‘Fingerprint’ and not ‘Footprint’ was chosen. He explained that there are 100 fingerprints in 1 footprint and therefore carbon fingerprints are far more desirable than carbon footprints. Elliot’s message was to take every opportunity to reinforce this in day to day activities, on or offline, social media and in person and to always set an example by your actions.
In Robson’s part of the presentation he was keen for us to take on board and implement energy conservation by switching off lights, sourcing eco-friendly technology in the home and by simply walking instead of using the car. He left us with the disturbing thought that before long there will be more plastic bottles than fish in the ocean!
T’s message was the distressing impact that greenhouse gases are having on the planet, and the race that world leaders are part of to combat or at the very least lower these to a minimum. T’s dream is to live in a world with a nice healthy habitat because the planet deserves our love and care forever and a day.
The students provided an informative and thought provoking window into their vision for a greener future. Their abundant message was that ‘Knowledge is Power’ and with great attention to detail we can indeed turn around our past mistakes and make good and ecologically sound decisions in the future.
Phil Dean then took to the floor to tell members about the John Muir Award scheme that the students were working towards. This scheme focuses on wild places and has 4 challenges, discover/explore/conserve and share. Phil explained that John Muir was the man responsible for the setting up of the country’s National Parks starting with the Peak District in 1951 and finally the South Downs here in Sussex in 2010.
A questions and answers session concluded the first half of the meeting in which the students further impressed members in their knowledge and confidence to tackle everything they were asked. Fingerprints not Footprints badges were awarded to all who posed a question.
After a break for refreshments the popular Nature Notes session was delivered by Graham Tuppen. Beginning with welcome signs of spring, Graham gave news of sightings of Celandines in bloom, Wild Primroses, Wood Anemones and a Nuthatch was spotted along with a Tree Creeper in the Plantation. Also a shy Water Vole was glimpsed along the banks of the Rife. A short but amazing video was then shown featuring a fight between 2 White-tailed Sea Eagles in the sky above the RSPB Pulborough Brooks. This display was between a young eagle that was encroaching on the older eagle’s territory – an interesting addition to this much loved section of the meeting.
Ed Miller drew the meeting to its conclusion with local planning news. He highlighted the fact that there were several planning applications for housing estates still awaiting a decision by Arun DC.

Members of Ferring Conservation Group welcomed Matt Eade to their February meeting to talk about his observations regarding bird migration here in Sussex. Matt has had a lifelong interest in birds and in his professional life he works in operations at Naturetrek HQ and has the responsibility to design and lead wildlife tours.

Matt strongly recommends autumn as the best season to watch birds migrate along the Sussex coastline, when thousands of birds flock through just stopping long enough to refuel before crossing the English Channel.

Although wetlands, heathlands, estuaries and peatlands hold international importance for so many migratory species all year round, the best chance of seeing a variety of birds is around coastal nature reserves.

A south-east wind is favourable in observing a mixed group of migrating birds and will not only attract a good selection of passage migrants but also draw in some rarities.

The scenic valley of Cuckmere Haven – the gateway to the Seven Sisters, is also a fantastic location where passerines use stars and landmarks to navigate. Birds use the rotation of close star patterns around a centre point, and in the wild this enables them to determine where north is and then use this information to fly south.

Matt explained to the audience that Raptors usually preferred to avoid flapping flight so their flyways are generally over land.

Illustrated with excellent photographs, Matt reported that the following birds had been sighted by him in recent years:

Red-breasted Goose, Osprey, Honey-buzzard, Aquatic Warbler, Tawny Pipit, and Short-eared Owls.

After the usual break for refreshments Graham Tuppen took to the floor to present the Nature Notes slot. Graham reported many interesting sightings along the Rife including a Kingfisher, a Water vole, Frog Spawn in both lagoons, Stock Doves, Collared Doves and Great-crested Grebes on the beach. Graham also reported that the Nature Walk around Burpham on Monday had been well attended and among many interesting observations were numerous birds of prey along with welcome signs of spring such as primroses, snowdrops and hawthorn coming into leaf – a keen member also spotted two Hares ‘Boxing’ in the middle of a field.

Ed Miller brought the meeting to a close with Planning News:

The proposed housing estate at Kingston Lane is soon to be decided along with the proposed Lansdowne Nursery estate.

The proposed Ham Manor housing estate is still open for comment as well as the proposed Highdown Vineyard estate.

Ed reminded members that the Government is soon to change the policy on housing development under the ‘Planning Policy Framework’ – which he feels cannot be implemented soon enough.