Join a community to protect and restore nature
Woodland
The words ‘wood’, ‘wild’ and ‘weald’ all stem from the same source. Sussex is a relatively wooded county, with about 20% cover, including some outstanding ancient woodland areas as well as new natural woodland and plantations. These places are home to rare fungi and invertebrates, various mammals, songbirds and birds of prey.
The wetlands
Fresh water is life. There’s a growing movement to save and restore our precious waterways and wet places, from demanding better management from our water industry to rewetting wetlands and helping Beavers to return to Sussex.
Towns & Gardens
With habitat loss and rural overdevelopment causing huge threats to many species, our gardens and urban green spaces have become a lifeline for wildlife. Connectivity and collaboration at neighbourhood level are vital to making these places the best they can be for wildlife.
The Coast & Sea
With mussels, sponges, lobsters, jellyfish, dolphins and so much more, our local seas are home to a huge range of wildlife, largely unseen and often at risk from destructive fishing practices, pollution and warming waters. We demand real protection for our marine conservation areas.
Explore the ways we defend and restore nature in Sussex
Our work to protect and restore habitats, create climate-resilient landscapes, and inspire people to take action for nature, has many strands.
Grey Seal © Alexander Mustard/2020VISIONAppeals
Sussex’s Marine Wildlife Needs Your Help
Sussex’s coast and sea are home to an incredible variety of wildlife and valuable marine and coastal habitats, but they are under threat from pollution, overfishing and habitat loss.
The decline of our marine wildlife is one of the greatest environmental challenges of our time, but it is not inevitable. With your support, we can monitor the waters off our coast, gather vital evidence to protect the species that live there, and restore important habitats. Together, we can help Sussex’s coast and sea recover.
We urgently need to raise £100,000 to defend our marine and coastal wildlife with evidence that decision-makers can’t ignore.
of plants, animals, birds, insects and invertebrates are found across our nature reserves in Sussex.
are members of Sussex Wildlife Trust. That’s a powerful community for change.
of land are being restored and protected in our nature reserves across Sussex.
give their time and energy to nature in their community through projects and initiatives that we run.
What’s on
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Connect with wildlife
Thousands of people share their love of wildlife in Sussex via social media. From garden visitors and community campaigns to the latest rare finds on our reserves, we bring it all together. Join us on your preferred platform (and get our weekly news by email).
Sep 18
"Found in my veg patch on Saturday! Crawled out from under my pumpkin plants! Had to Google to find out it was a Deaths-head Hawk-moth! Never seen one before."
A fantastic find shared by Jackie Love on the Sussex Wildlife Trust Nature Table Facebook page.
The Deaths-head Hawk-moth is large moth with a distinctive skull-shaped mark on the back of its thorax.
"On the whole they are a very scarce immigrant, reported in very small numbers most years," says Bob Foreman, biodiversity data specialist at the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre. "However, this year will go down as one of the best years for migrant moths, and it’s not surprising to hear reports of this species."
Bob says that they don`t normally breed in the UK. They have a long life cycle, from egg to caterpillar to pupa to adult moth, and UK winters are usually too cold for them to survive.
However, insect populations are changing rapidly, along with our climate.
"The larvae are occasionally reported feeding on potatoes and looking at the one in the photos, it’s so fresh, I wonder whether it may be a locally grown one?"
📷 © Jackie Love
#ukmoths #ukwildlife #mothsofinstagram #teammoth
Sep 17
SQUAD GOALS 🌳🐦
House Sparrows have long been associated with humans and our homes, with the last part of their Latin name, `domesticus`, meaning `belonging to the house`.
Who has a little gang to window watch? 👀
#SquadGoals #Birding #BirdsOfInstagram
📷 (in order) House Sparrows © Alan Price/Female © Nigel Symington/Male © Alan Price
Sep 16
"Restoring our natural environment needs more people, more perspectives, different skills and experiences. We want to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from nature and have a voice in decisions about their local environment; our green spaces belong to all of us, and we want everyone to feel welcome in them."
Introducing our new Wild About Inclusion Lead, Anna Shamoon 🙌
#NationalInclusionWeek #WildAboutInclusion
📷Anna Shamoon
Sep 15
⭐Nominations are open for the David Streeter Award 2026 ⭐
Do you know someone aged 16-25 who deserves to be recognised for taking action for nature? If this person is you, self-nominations are also accepted!
Information and how to apply in our bio.
📷© Katie Bell
Sep 14
Morning, internet. Which Monday vibes frog are you today? 🐸
#MondayMotivation #Amphibians #Frog
📷©Julia Hoare/Peter Brooks/Mark Hamblin2020VISION/Beverly Jones/Neil Fletcher/Dave Kilbey
Sep 9
Sea Fest has been designed and organised by the Sussex Wildlife Trust Youth Rangers, a group of volunteers aged 16-25 who are passionate about creating opportunities for young people to connect with nature.
The festival aims to help more young people discover the incredible marine environment around Sussex, learn about the wildlife living on our shores, and explore how we can all play a part in protecting it.
Come along, explore the coast, meet new people and discover the marine world around you.
What to expect…
🌊 Guided Rock Pooling
🎤 Talks and Q&As
🎨 Creative Activities
🎬 Film Screening
🤝 Community and Conservation Stalls
🐦 Coastal Bird Walk
Poster: Millie Rudling
Sea Fest takes part on the 19th September at the Rottingdean Whiteway Centre. To book a FREE ticket, visit our Eventbrite page by searching `Sussex Wildlife Trust Eventbrite` in your browser.
#marine #sussex #brightonandhove
Sep 8
Huge thanks to artist @minniesandbach who has adorned our Eco Hut at our Woods Mill nature reserve with a few cute critters! 🐭🐦🎨
#WildlifeArt #NatureReserves
📷© Julia Hoare
Sep 7
Plumage of a fabulous drag artist – voice of nails down a blackboard – meet the most exotic member of the crow family – the autumnal acorn super-stasher – the Jay! One Jay can store up to 5000 acorns in a season. How many Oak trees have grown from one of these we wonder?
📸 Alan Price
Sep 4
Every year Sussex Wildlife Trust teams up with colleagues at Sussex IFCA to undertake small fish surveys in the near-shore sea at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. This is to understand the health of the population – important to the wider health of the ecosystem. The area is designated as a marine Special Protection Area (SPA): Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay SPA. This SPA specifically protects a range of coastal / sea birds, many of which rely on small fish in the near-shore area as their principal source of food. 📸 Rich Bradley
Sep 3
What big eyes you have! All 8 of `em. It`s a Jumping Spider. The front pair is much bigger than the rest, which is why they look cute. Their vision is exceptional, far superior to most spiders, which can only distinguish light from dark, so they are active hunters with no need of a web. Their visual acuity allows them to track down & pounce on their targets with deadly accuracy, leaping up to 14 times their own body length. Favourite prey includes pesky greenfly and mosquitoes, so they provide a valuable natural pest control service. Their excellent eyesight is also put to good use during courtship, when the male performs an elaborate, leg-waving dance routine to woo a potential mate. What’s not to love? 📸 Phil Booker #spider
📸 Phil Booker.
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As a member, you get access to free guided nature walks, magazines about local wildlife, discounts on courses and events, and a guide to our reserves.
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