We built nest boxes for swifts, we installed them, we watched them circle in the sky above. As a community we came together to try and make a difference. We can do more - which will have a nationwide reach. By just signing a petition.

These amazing birds fly thousands of miles to Britain every summer. For hundreds of years, they’ve made their nests in small gaps in our buildings. Hopefully some will take up home in the nest boxes that we made. But now, modern houses are being built without these spaces and the number of swifts has dropped by half in just 20 years. [1]

Labour used to support a simple solution: making sure every new home includes a “swift brick” – a £35 hollow brick that gives these birds a place to nest. But now they’re in power, they’re planning to block a vote that would put this plan in place.

Here’s how we win: for every 1,000 of us who sign the petition, we’ll send an email to Housing Minister Angela Rayner showing her what the public think. Will you be the voice for these incredible birds and sign the petition? It only takes 30 seconds to sign…

https://act.38degrees.org.uk/act/swifts-petition?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=blast111162

You might be wondering why there are a number of events to pull Himalayan Balsam.

Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) is an invasive, non-native weed. Native to the Himalayas, it was introduced to the UK as a garden plant in 1839, but it quickly spread into the countryside.

It's typically found growing along moving water courses such as canals and riverbanks. The River Rother and its tributaries are full of it.

Himalayan balsam is extremely vigorous and spreads quickly, out-competing native plants. Its flowers are loved by bees, and because of this it produces an abundance of seedpods, which explode, dispersing up to 800 seeds per plant. Himalayan balsam seeds often land in moving water, up to 4m from its parent plant, aiding further dispersal. It is little wonder that Himalayan Balsam steadily colonises good-sized swaths of the ground by forming monoculture thickets.

This species itself does not need much sunlight, but because of its own height and its survival strategy of forming dense thickets, it starves other shorter native species of much-needed sunlight, gradually eliminating them.

It is also indifferent to the soil, growing in poor as well as rich soils, and light as well as heavy soils, with about equal facility.

If you can spare some time please do support Eco Rother Action and PeCAN in there efforts to eradicate Himalayan Balsam from our area.

People had travelled to tell how it was.   It was a joy for us relative newcomers (44 years only) to see the connections made once again - meeting up for the first time in years and reminiscing. There was such a sense of community. Thank you so much to all who came to make this event such a success.

We had our village scrapbooks on show - the first one was started in 1885. The third scrapbook is being updated still ...  People were spotting grandparents and long gone relatives, and were amazed to see how the village has changed, which, of course, is inevitable.

Over 150 documents and photographs were scanned, which we will be looking at shortly.  There was an ordinance survey map of 1912 on show, which was very revealing, showing how the village has grown and developed in over 110 plus years.

This event was so enjoyed by newcomers and older residents alike.

We will be researching this more, so if you have something to share please contact Nick Whitney nickwitney@gmail.com or Lucy Aspinall aspinall.lucy@gmail.com

Thanks to Jane’s endeavours, Harting Climate Action Network has successfully applied to the Coronation Living Heritage Fund, through Chichester District Council, for a Community Orchard of ten different varieties of Sussex apple trees.

These trees were planted at Lower Culvers in early March, with the kind permission of Hyde Housing. They are the foundation of a community orchard, which will produce a variety of both eating and cooking apples for us all to share in years to come.

This orchard has been planted by Harting Climate Action Network, with help from some of the Harting Primary School children, who came along with trowels, spades, gloves and lots of enthusiasm.  (The garden tools were donated by Harting Horticultural Society).

They are maiden trees so we will all have to be patient to await our first apples!

A review of 2024

800 Repairs at our Repair Café

Our doors closed on 16^th November for the last Repair Café of 2024. As always, a huge thank you for all for your help and support. We have now repaired a whopping total of 800 items!

In the last 12 months 296 items have been repaired which includes 14 wooden chairs, 20 lamps, 19 garden tools mended and 64 sewing repairs.

The Repair Café opens again for business this Saturday 18^th January 2025 at Harting Club, Church Lane, South Harting. Please do join us from 10am.

Decarbonising Harting

Our focus for 2024 was to work with Harting Community Hall in acquiring planning for an ambitious scheme for 64 solar panels, a battery and heat pump to enable the hall to move entirely off oil.

The panels will provide electricity for the heat pump as well as creating a valuable income for the hall when exporting renewable energy to the national grid. We hope also to install EV charging points for the community.

Despite the discovery of bats, we now have planning permission. Funding is proving a bit more elusive and with the complete scheme cost around £80k we will are looking at a blend of finance to kick start the work over the next few months. 

Launched in our Parish, expanding across Hampshire & West Sussex!

As a result of running the Future Energy Landscapes (FEL) workshop in Harting in 2023, we were invited to the SDNPA’s call for sites for renewable energy generation in the Park.

Following the workshops in Harting, the SDNPA and local councils now generously fund our partners at Energise South Downs to run these workshops across Hampshire and West Sussex. The workshop have been run in 9 communities with a further 15 planned for 2025.

The purpose is to understand how local communities feel about renewables in their local landscape and also to educate what would be needed to take communities off oil. 

Warmer homes & Thermal Camera

We continue signposting people to support and advise about how to insulate our homes and explore low carbon technologies to heat and power their homes. Don’t forget we also have a thermal camera – which needs this cold weather to measure heat loss in your home. Get in touch with Katherine to find out more hartingclimateaction@gmail.com

Wild About Wildflowers!

Since the 1940's, the UK has lost 75% of its wildflower meadows, leading to a potentially catastrophic decline in our wildlife. We started 2024 by launching Wild About, a project to bring our native wildflowers to the heart of our community.

The 2024 project’s aim was to give every household within our parish the opportunity to grow wildflowers, and by doing so, providing pollinators with much needed food and habitat. We were very grateful for the support from Alitex who donated all the seeds. 

We planted the wildflower seedlings, grown by an army of volunteers, in our mini wildflower meadows in South, West and East Harting; These areas made a good start in their first year. We look forward to seeing greater impact this coming year.

At Harting CAN’s Two Years On event in March, we launched our great big seed giveaway. Plus there were school visits, events such as the Festivities where hundreds of packets of wildflower seeds have been distributed across our community. We would love to hear how all your wildflower growers got on! 

Please let us know if you would be interested in helping one of the local community Mini Meadows or have further ideas how we can expand Wild About – contact Sarah Green sarahja.green@gmail.com

Operation Nest Box – Phase 2

The focus for 2024 (continuing into 2025) was to make and supply hedgehog houses and bat boxes. Nationwide, hedgehogs and bat populations are affected by changes we have made to our landscape and buildings.

8 hedgehog houses and 2 bat boxes are in the process of being issued to local households offering these endangered animals a safe and secure home to roost, hibernate and raise their young. Please contact Christine Cunningham (christine.cunningham@live.co.uk) if you are interested in providing shelter for these fascinating creatures or would like to help make them.

Operation Nest Box – Phase 1

2024 was the 2^nd year of our swift, house martin and swallow nest boxes being in place. We have reports of successful take up of the swallow nest cups and of everything from sparrows and starlings to honey bees nesting in the swift and house martin boxes. Fingers crossed that 2025 sees the first swifts and house martins taking up nest boxes. 

Are you interested in recording what’s happening in each of these nest boxes? Please contact Christine christine.cunningham@live.co.uk

Hedge Planting

Hedgerows provide vital habitat and food for thousands of our native animals, from insects and song birds to hedgehogs.

Storm Darragh provided an energising back drop to December's fabulous hedge planting day at Down Park Farm. Some 30 volunteers gathered and suitably fortified by Jane Healey's coffee and homemade cakes, planted a phenomenal 735 trees, forming a 180m long hedge, 3 to 5 trees deep.

The success of the day was testament to the coming together of a local farmer, Harting CAN and the boundless enthusiasm and energy of our wonderful community. Thank you!

What next? Just let us know of sites where we can come together again and plant more hedgerows. If you know landowners or farmers who are keen for these projects to take place on their land please let us know. Email Jane Healey

Politics

Last May, a couple of days after the announcement of the General Election, Andrew Griffith, MP, [Con] came to speak to our village on the Government’s policy regarding the climate crisis. This was ably chaired by Rupert Grey and was followed by a Q & A session.  It was very well attended with Andrew being rather evasive on the subject.

In July, a few days before the Election, Harting CAN hosted a Hustings in Midhurst for all the prospective candidates, with the exception of Andres Griffith who was unable to attend. It was another well attended event with some thought-provoking questions from the floor.

And finally….

a message from Jane, Katherine, Christine, Lynne and Sarah

We would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has taken part and supported us in these projects. Your enthusiasm and support are infectious. Together we can achieve so much, and is doing so feel a greater sense of connection to the natural world and the community we are so fortunate to live in.

PS If you’d like to get involved in any way or have ideas what more we could be doing please get in touch

 [GH1]Sarah – you mention the next RC date twice – maybe intentional?

 [GH2]Along with our Two Years On event and our big seed giveaway we ran worksohps at Harting Primary School, Diggers and Harting Pre Schoo. Thank you to the staff and children who enthusiastically explored the roles of pollinators and our wildflowers and what we could each do to help support our local environment.

Andrew Griffith MP and Tory candidate for the Arundel and South Downs constituency being questioned about his party’s commitment to the climate crisis in Harting Parish, May 2023.

On 30th March we came together to celebrate Harting Climate Action’s first year. We gathered in the village hall to share our successes and discuss plans for the coming year.

When we understood how close to extinctions swifts and housemartins are our community came together and has taken action.

It all begins with an idea.