Friends of Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve

Friends of Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve

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The East Hill Lift

Much excitement for the New Year - the East Hill Lift is to re-open! This much loved and historic Hastings attraction is not only hugely important to the town's tourist industry, but is also the most important gateway to the Country Park Nature Reserve. Its closure in 2007 was, therefore, a very sad day for all town residents who love the Reserve.

Legal issues and questions of (surprise!) Health and Safety have delayed work to get the Lift running again, but the good news is that there is now a date for the official re-opening - 27th March 2010. This is the Satrday before Easter, and should be a busy time. A very full day of fun and celebrations is planned, so please keep the day free, and pray for good weather! The Friends of Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve will have a marquee at the top of the lift and will be hoping to recruit as many new members as possible. We will have a display recounting the history of the Reserve, and will be organising walks on this theme and others. Please do come along, and bring your friends.

Steve Peak, our chairman and a local historian, has written an article about the history of the lift, to be found in our latest newsletter.

Andrew Blackman,
Vice-chairman

Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises in our Seas

A talk by Stephen Marsh of ORCA
Friday March 19th from 7pm
at the History House in Courthouse Street

Have you ever wished you knew more about these fascinating marine mammals? Here is an unmissable opportunity to learn how to identify them and about their ecology and conservation. It promises to be a very interesting evening. During the interval you will have an opportunity to talk informally to Stephen, and ask questions.

The talk will be held at the History House, Courthouse Street in Hastings Old Town. Courthouse Street runs between The Bourne and the High Street towards the sea end, and you can park free in the big car park off The Bourne next to St. Mary-Star-of the Sea.

Make a note in your diary now!

Hello from Sussex Coast College

This year the College decided to run a new course to encourage more people from the area into gainful employment within the countryside sector, so we offered the Btec 1st Diploma level 2 Countryside Managment course. The aim is for people to gain a qualification that enables them to look for work within countryside managmenr, or to offer a broader education to those interested in Ecology and Countryside features.

With the help of Murray Davidson of Hastings Borough Council, we now have the opportunity to use the facilities at Place farm as our educational base to learn all about Countryside Management.

Within this course we learn the introductory theory of ecology and how to improve biodiversity within our environment. We cover such topics as woodland ecology and management and microclimates, including factors associated with them, ie soils, hydrology, food chains/webs, biodiversity and habitat management.

We also carry out practical work that teaches the skills required for working in the countryside, such as erecting stock fencing, installing gates, maintaining habitat areas and so forth.

We spend a lot of time exploring the beautiful Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve, and discovering the wonderful species unique to our part of England - something which I am sure the members of the Friends fully empathise with.

We only have a small group currently, but are looking to extend our numbers in September 2010 and will also offer the National Award qualification - for those who already have a qualification or are conversant with Conservation Management.

If you would like to find out further details of our course please contact me jwaterfield@hastings.ac.uk or telephone 01424 458704.

Jenny Waterfield

The New Management Plan

This year sees the publication of a new five year Management Plan for the Country Park Nature Reserve, and the officers responsible have worked hard to prepare this for presentation to the elected members in early 2010. Your committee were asked to present the views and suggestions of the Friends on the current draft, and so Steve Peak and I went to do just this at a meeting on 3rd December last year.

The Management Plan covers every aspect of the running of the Reserve down to the smallest practical detail, so there was plenty to discuss! It is important that the content is as up-to-date as possible, as this document is the first port of call for all outside bodies taking an interest in the Reserve, such as the Green Flag judges, Natural England, and grant-giving organisations. It is also the handbook on which every practical aspect of running the Park for the coming five years is based. The final draft is ready now, so now the Plan goes to Councillors for approval.

Andrew Blackman
Vice-chairman

Clifftop Cafe?

Nick Sangster, who manages seafront services for the Council, is working on proposals to develop a cafe at the top station of the East Hill Lift. The Council are hoping to set aside some money for the project. The lift house is a listed building, so existing space would be used. It is also hoped that there will be exhibition space for interpretation of the site.

Prospective Awards

Our application for the Green Flag award has been submitted, and judging will be in April or May.

Members of the public are invited to vote on line for their favourite park. There will be an extra award for the most popular one. Why not visit www.keepbritaintidy.org/greenflag and cast your vote? There are over 500 votes for the favourite to date, and only 2 for the Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve we all love so well. We have a long way to go! Click on South-east, then on the map for HCP NR. That will take you to the dedicated page, which has a box for your vote.

(NB Only one vote per person is permitted..!)

To contact us, e-mail: FoHCPNR