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Miyawaki-style tree planting

Miyawaki-style tree planting

A new Miyawaki-style tree plot has been planted in Chichester's Florence Park, as part of a trial to test the success of different planting methods across the Chichester District.

The Miyawaki planting method was originally developed in Japan in the 1970s and typically involves high density planting in specially prepared soil. Although almost unknown in the UK a few years ago, this planting method has proven to be a great way to establish young trees in areas where conditions aren't ideal for planting — for example, in poor soil.

Follow this link to read more about the Miyawaki - style tree planting project

Marine strategy part three: 2025

Marine strategy part three: 2025
Witterings: photo copyright Gavin Holder

The UK government has issued its most recent update to the Marine Strategy Part Three: 2025 UK programme of measures.

The strategy outlines the measures that contribute towards Good Environmental Status (GES) in UK seas.

This strategy is an update to the Marine strategy part three: UK programme of measures published in 2015. Part three is the final part in our marine strategy and complements the existing parts of the strategy:

Follow this link to read the Marine Strategy Part Three: 2025 UK programme of measures.

 

Wallace & Gromit Flood Film

Wallace & Gromit Flood Film

Lincolnshire County Council has commissioned the animators behind Wallace and Gromit to create a film raising awareness of the dangers of flooding. Something to think about for the Peninsula perhaps?

The two-minute-long film, titled A Mole’s Story, was commissioned by the council as part of a Government-funded initiative to protect flood prone areas. Lincolnshire County Council is putting £54,124 towards the total cost of the film (£130,249).

2024 CHASM Sediment Report

2024 CHASM Sediment Report
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This report provides an update of analysis conducted as part of the CHASM (Crustacean, Habitats and Sediment Movement) project carried out by the University of Southampton in summer 2024. It seeks to understand environmental change from a sediments perspective, and sets out to answer a series of questions using various data sources and analysis. The questions are:
1. What sediments make up the seabed and has this changed overtime?
2. What is the water quality (temperature, turbidity etc.) like within the study site and
has it changed overtime?
3. What are the sources of (fine) sediment in the system and has their magnitude
changed over time?
4. How might what we have learnt about the sediment system have influenced the
decline in crab and lobster populations

Follow this link to read the CHASM Sediment Report 2024

Solar Heritage

Solar Heritage
Photo copyright Chichester Harbour Conservancy

Experience the beauty, wildlife and history of Chichester Harbour on our eco-friendly boat, Solar Heritage.

Solar-powered, Solar Heritage offers a quiet and peaceful way to explore Chichester Harbour. Our boat trips run all year round. Our standard trips include harbour discovery tours, seal safaris and nature and birdwatching trips. We also run unique sailings throughout the year including music trips, sunset cruises, talks from specialist speakers and themed family trips. We offer dog-friendly sailings on our Harbour Discovery cruises. Private hire is available.

Solar Heritage is fully-accessible and open-sided with a large stable deck so you can move around and enjoy superb panoramic harbour views.

Follow this link find out more and to book a trip on Solar Heritage

Blue Health

Blue Health
Photo copyright Rik Wright

How does the sea benefit our health and wellbeing? Have you ever gazed out at the sea and felt the world become smaller? Perhaps you have swum in its waters and felt that time stood still, that the noise and chatter of the world faded away to a distant whisper, or you have marvelled as the sun slid gently beneath its horizon.

Being near natural bodies of water, especially the sea, has proven health benefits. This effect has been dubbed “blue health”.

The following article by ‘The Conversation’ looks at how the sea has been important to us humans since the beginnings of life itself, and how connecting with nature benefits us in so many ways:

Blue Health: how the sea benefits our physical and mental wellbeing

Walking Speed and Ageing Well

Walking Speed and Ageing Well

There is a link between walking and ageing well. This article in 'The Conversation' discusses the benefits of walking and how you can increase your pace!

Walking Speed & Ageing Well

Great Sussex Way Witterings Video

Great Sussex Way Witterings Video
Photo copyright Chichester Harbour Conservancy

The Great Sussex Way is delighted to share their latest destination video - The Witterings. This sits on The Great Sussex Way homepage,East Wittering & Bracklesham Bay and West Wittering destination pages and will form part of their social media campaign in the New Year that is intended to support the shoulder seasons.

Rivers and Seas Watch

Rivers and Seas Watch
Witterings: photo copyright Gavin Holder

Rivers and Seas Watch is the new online service from Southern Water. It replaces Beach Buoy and provides near real-time information about storm overflow releases across the Southern Water region. When a potential storm overflow release is identified by their monitoring equipment (EDMs), a release event is created and shown on Rivers and Seas Watch. Every storm overflow outfall in the Southern Water region is shown.

Follow this link for the Southern Water Welcome to Rivers and Seas Watch

Follow this link to see the map of Rivers and Seas Watch

National Wealth Service

National Wealth Service
Photo copyright Sarah Hughes

A new natural capital approach is needed if we are to save nature is the stark warning issued as a major new report on the state of our natural world is launched by Natural England.

“Nature is the national wealth service”: says Natural England Chair, Tony Juniper, as he calls for new approach in a major report. He goes on to say benefits provided by nature make it vital to national prosperity.

  • Natural England’s State of Natural Capital Report for England 2024 highlights vital link between nature and our health, wealth and security
  • Report points the way for decision makers to ensure nature and economic growth can work hand-in-hand

Natural capital is the parts of nature that provide benefits to people. We depend on it for the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. It boosts our health and wellbeing. It captures and stores carbon and has a vital role to play in helping us adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Natural capital is also an economic concept. It considers nature as a stock of assets, which we have to invest in. Ecosystem assets need to be in a healthy state to support the benefits society relies on

The State of Natural Capital Report, published by Natural England, provides a unique insight into the vital role that healthy nature plays in underpinning our economic health.

The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of our ecosystem assets, such as wetlands and forests, and the important role they play in sustaining us and the risks to society and the economy if the status quo is maintained.

Key findings:

Because our ecosystem assets are degraded, they are less able to cope with the impact of future change. Our assets are already very highly impacted by land and sea-use change, pollution, natural resource use and exploitation and climate change. There is currently a very rapid increase in the severity of impacts of climate change, associated invasive species (including pests and diseases) and land and sea-use change. This puts the assets and benefits we rely on at risk.

  • All of our ecosystem assets, and almost all the benefits they provide, are at high or medium-high risk:
  • Assets at high risk: marine; coastal margins; freshwaters and wetlands; mountains moorlands and heaths; woodlands.
  • Assets at medium-high risk: semi-natural grasslands; enclosed farmland; urban.
  • Benefits at high risk: timber and other wood products; produce from the sea; plentiful water; reared animals and their outputs; clean water; erosion control; flood protection; thriving plants and wildlife; cultural benefits.
  • Benefits at medium-high risk: cultivated crops; clean air; urban cooling; noise regulation; pollination; pest and disease control.

Priority actions and opportunities There are three main ways to reduce risk to natural capital:

  • Restore ecosystems.
  • Reduce impacts of drivers of change.
  • Make natural capital central to decision-making

Follow this link to read the Natural England press release on the National Wealth Service.

Follow this link to read the State of Natural Capital Report for England 2024