Big Summer Festival 2018
The Big Summer Festival is back by popular demand and well under way. This year we have more of a river and water focus than previous years to raise the profile of this resource and just how precious water is to this chalky environment. Of course if you don't fancy dipping into that then there are 23 other events to take the family along to in the Dover and Folkestone area. Download a copy here.
Up on the Downs has been working out how to carry on the partnership and continue good landscape work in the area after funding ends. Together with key partners and including several wider consultation events we created a plan for developing further landscape focused projects which can be found here. Our legacy will be a series well planned projects where much of the ground work to support development has already been established. Look out for new projects in your area in the next few months.
Not all work on the ground has stopped! The start of 2018 saw some new partnership projects come to fruition once Heritage Lottery Fund decided we could use some under spend from the scheme to enhance completed projects. These include;
- A new pond at Samphire Hoe
- New sound proof doors in the Samphire Hoe shelter
- A new water supply at Old Park Hill
- New fencing and scrub clearance at Lydden Roadside Nature Reserve
- Path and scrub clearance at Maxton
- Extension of fencing and a kissing gate at Coombe Valley
- New framed interpretation signs on Folkestone Downs
These projects all added value to original projects and fitted with Up on the Downs values around conserving and celebrating the landscape.
Up on the Downs may be ending this August but the partners are still around ensuring the grazing animals are healthy, chalk grassland is being managed, shelters are being used and generally doing good things in the greenspaces around Dover and Folkestone. Richard Haynes, who manages the project will not only be
overseeing the legacy of Up on the Downs but helping develop new projects as
manager of White Cliffs Countryside Partnership (WCCP). There are a number of projects the Up on the Downs team have been working on. These include:
- Two cross channel intereg bids to help develop the green and heritage tourism potential of Up on the Downs and to work on some exciting training for local people.
- A River Dour project to increase community engagement around the importance of chalk streams
- A capacity building project to help WCCP become an even stronger, more successful organisation.
- A project at High Meadow in Dover to make the site better for local people.
All these things will aim to continue our work to engage and celebrate local people in their landscape in a time of climate change, species loss and loss of connection with the natural world.
One of the applications we are working on is a project at High Meadow that will enable better access for all users.
Up on the Downs and Dover Town Council put lots of work into bringing back chalk grassland and grazing on this site. It is hoped that a community project up there will enable more enjoyment of the area. For this we have been asking a number of community groups and organisations about what they would like to see on site.
If you live, visit or value the green spaces of Dover.You can also help by filling in this survey Thank you!
