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.
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
Events and courses
Explore our reserves
Find your next spot to explore and enjoy nature in Sussex
From Rye Harbour and Seaford Head on the coast, to Eridge Rocks or Levin Down amidst the hills, there are over 25 Trust nature reserves waiting for your visit.
News & resources
Latest updates
Join the conversation
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).
Nov 2
Alas, this beauty was a one-day wonder at @ryeharbournr – a Desert Wheatear, the first to be recorded on any of our reserves, and more usually found in Morocco, the Middle East or India.
#birdsofinstagram #Sussex #ryeharbournaturereserve
📷 © Tony Ham
Nov 2
Brilliant macro photographer & Trust member Kutub Uddin has just won the Portfolio Award of the Natural History Museum`s Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition – we will feature some of his photos this week.
Tickets for the exhibition are now on sale
Featured image: `Tiny Dancers`
Fine threads, known as capillitium, emerge on the round, yellow-green bodies, which will eventually help disperse reproductive spores. Kutub says they appear like ‘tiny clusters or unusual textures on the wood, often appearing as minute pins, spheres or dust-like groupings’.
@kutub_uddin_macro @natural_history_museum @nhm_wpy
Nov 1
Every last petal is precious🪻
This Buff-Tailed Bumblebee queen was spotted in a Sussex garden last week, feeding on the very last Lavender flowers on the plant!
Resist over-tidying gardens at this time of year – they are a lifeline for wildlife, feeding up for winter.
📷© Kerry Williams
Oct 31
A slimy, brainless creature that stalks prey, navigates mazes & creates incredible transport networks that are more efficient than the ones that humans create. Who or what can it be? Slime moulds of course! We love these guys.
Happy Halloween! #halloween
📸 Kutub Uddin @kutub_uddin_macro
Oct 30
Spooky, smelly fungus. Meet creepy Devil`s Fingers, or Octopus Stinkhorn. Red tentacles splay out from the alien-looking `egg` into a starfish shape.
📷 Sue Robinson
Oct 30
Jay in flight with an acorn by Maria McGrath. Each Jay will bury & hide thousands of acorns over the winter, up to 10,000!
@bizz2018
Oct 29
PEEP 🐭
At this time of year, wildlife is making use of fallen leaves to shelter, find food, and make cosy hibernation chambers to prep for the long winter ahead.
Instead of tidying them – leave them be! 🍂
#Autumn #AutumnLeaves #LeaveItWild
📷 Yellow Necked Mouse © Alan Price
Oct 29
Last month, Sussex Wildlife Trust members visited @kneppwildland to experience the tranquil wetlands that are now home to Beavers. 🦫
After a summer of extreme heat and wildfires, the new lush habitats brought a feeling of hope. As hardworking ecosystem engineers, Beavers play an important role in maintaining wetlands, which in turn act as carbon sinks and improve water availability and reduce droughts and floods. They demonstrate how investing in nature restoration can help us adapt, and maintain climate resilience.
To learn more about how Beavers can be our nature recovery superheroes, sign up to our free webinar (10 November, 12:00-13:00 GMT) using the link in our bio.
Oct 27
Excited for autumn? Just as the leaves start to turn, remember to don your fancy autumn crown, stand in the bracken and ROAR 🍂🦌
#Deer #Autumn #AutumnLeaves
📷© Paul Lindley
Oct 26
👻🎃 WHAT KINDA SPOOKY CREATURE ARE YOU? 🎃👻
Our wildlife friends have got dressed up for Halloween… but which one matches YOUR personality? 🦉🕷️🐦🦇🐀🦔
Join the Sussex Wildlife Trust community
Become a member today to protect nature for tomorrow
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.
Not quite ready to join but want to help?
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Choose to give money to a specific cause, or to our work to manage local reserves, defend nature, and create wonderfully wild spaces on land and beneath the waves.