Headline items on the home page and volunteering pages
Volunteering Opportunity with the National Trust
The Parish Council has received the following details from the National Trust, a fantastic opportunity to get out in the countryside!
The National Trust are offering a new opportunity to become a ‘Woolbeding Reimagined’ volunteer.
Woolbeding Reimagined is an exciting project led by the National Trust’s South Downs West team whereby we hope to encourage nature recovery across ex-arable land in the Woolbeding area. We hope you can get involved in some way and become part of the journey which aims to establish species rich habitats, engage with more people and improve access to the countryside.
More details about the project can be found on our webpage Woolbeding conservation project | Sussex | National Trust
There are several volunteer roles, for all sorts of different abilities, interests and availabilities. However, we are in the early stages of the project delivery, so we want to keep things broad to allow you to help us develop these roles. Some of the volunteering opportunities we have in mind include:
- collecting widlflower seeds for dispersal and propagation
- taking part in the plant propagation programme
- roaming rangers to ramble across the site and inform us of what you’ve seen and help remediate
- ranger volunteering positions to help physically on tasks
- social media officers to update and engage the public
- admin assistants for record keeping and organisation
- livestock lookering to help monitor the cattle and sheep
- ecological surveying to assess if wildlife is increasing
- and more!
You’ll be volunteering alongside me, Charlotte Eley. I joined the team in mid-May and I will be hosting a ‘volunteer opportunities’ Open Morning on Friday 4th July from 10:00 until 12:00 at the South Downs West Estate Office:
Pound Common Yard
Woolbeding
West Sussex
GU29 0QB
///informed.clustered.smoke .
It will be an informal session whereby I will introduce myself and take some time to explain the project and what volunteering might look like. But there will be lots of time for questions and then I will show you around the yard and we can see some of the livestock too.
Please let me know if you plan to attend by emailing charlotte.eley@nationaltrust.org.uk. Parking is available on site but is fairly limited, so please car share where possible.
Thank you. Hopefully see you soon.
Himalayan Balsam Pulling
Midhurst Green Volunteers and the Rotary Club will begin their annual pull of the invasive bankside plant, Himalayan Balsam, on Saturday 14th June between 8am and 11am and urgently require more volunteers.
If you are able to help, please meet at the seat by North Mill Bridge. All you will need are gloves, wellies and suitable clothing to protect against nettles. Can’t make 8am, or need to leave earlier than 11am? No problem! Please get in touch with Michael Balmforth for more details – m.07979080120 or balmforths@yahoo.com
New Website for Friends of Easebourne Parish
Friends of Easebourne Parish have launched their new website this week, with lots of information about how to get involved. Please visit www.friendsofeasebourneparish.co.uk to see how you can help to keep our lovely Parish looking beautiful.
Green Volunteers do it again…
Did you spot the Midhurst Green Volunteers this weekend?
Even if you didn’t see them in action, if you walk along High Path you can’t fail to notice what a difference a day makes! The Green Volunteers did an amazing job cutting back over a tonne of green waste all along High Path, from Dodsley Grove to the turning into Riverbank Surgery.
All this with only a handful of volunteers and it took them over 4 hours start to finish.
The team are back in Easebourne for the next 2 Saturdays, the 17th meeting at the corner of Wheelbarrow Castle and Dodsley Lane, and on the 24th meeting at the bottom of Hollist Lane to tackle the upper section of High Path. We could really do with some extra hands so if you can spare an hour or two on a Saturday morning please go along with a pair of gloves at the ready! They start from around 8am but if you’re not an early bird don’t worry, you can still join in a little later!
The full MGV schedule can be found here: Programme 2024 – Midhurst Green Volunteers
Friends of Easebourne Parish hard at work!
One of the warmest days of the year didn’t stop the Friends of Easebourne Parish (FrEP) volunteers from doing a mass strim of areas in Easebourne Park. They were rewarded with a very welcome coffee and cake and have left the Park looking rather splendid!
If you’d like to get involved in future FrEP volunteering activities in the Park and around the village, please email frepsec@btinternet.com
Midhurst Community Hub seeks new listening volunteers
We’ve been asked by the Midhurst Community Hub to share the following information:
“IN TOUCH” February 2023
The top issue discussed at the Midhurst Community Forums in May and November last year was loneliness and isolation. Connecting to people is one of the “Five Steps to Wellbeing” recommended by MIND as we all want to feel valued for who we are.
So (Keeping) “In Touch” is being set up as a telephone buddying service, whereby volunteer callers undertake to make 3 phone calls a week to people who would welcome a friendly chat.
We are now recruiting volunteer callers and would particularly welcome those in the rural parishes around Midhurst (e.g. Stedham, Rogate, Harting, Milland, Fernhurst )
There has to be some necessary admin around this to protect both the caller and the recipient of the call. So volunteer callers are asked:
- to complete this simple application form now
- to sign a confidentiality form (to avoid gossiping)
- to agree to being DBSd (safeguarding both caller and called)
- to attend a briefing session (about Do’s and don’ts)
- to committing to make 3 phone calls a week
We will then link volunteer callers to those wishing to hear a friendly voice each week. The calls can of course be made from home.
This is a lovely opportunity for those who may themselves not be able to get out much to make the calls ,and thereby to provide a valuable service to others. We hope to start “In Touch” calls in early April.
And thank you!
Mike Abbott, Secretary to Hub Trustees
admin@midhurstcommunityhub.co.uk
01730-770403
In Touch Volunteer Caller Application Form – please fill out by visiting the link below:
Midhurst Community Hub In Touch Volunteers Leaflet
Name:
Address:
Town/village:
Postcode:
Telephone number:
Email:
Please tell us something about yourself and your interests in the box below so we can roughly match you to the person called.(Continue overleaf if needed).
Please return this form asap
by email: admin@midhurstcommunityhub.co.uk
by post: Midhurst Community Hub, St Ann’s Hall, St Anne’s Hill, Midhurst, GU29 9NN
Next step? We will then contact you – by phone!
Any questions? Phone Mike Abbott at the Hub on 01730-770403
Confidentiality: Your details will be stored on our database solely for this purpose. You can request their removal at any time in accordance with our Data protection (GDPR) policy.
New Year, New Challenge?
Are you looking for a new challenge for the New Year?
If you’ve lived in our Parish for more than 12 months, have a keen interest in what happens within our community, have some spare time and want to get involved, then we could be looking for you!
The Parish Council currently have 3 vacancies for volunteer Councillors. As a Council we are responsible for a number of things within the Parish, including the development and maintenance of Easebourne Park. We are consulted on all planning applications within the village and manage the Parish precept, collected as part of your Council Tax.
We meet as a full council every other month, with other Committees such as Finance and Planning meeting monthly. We are a diverse group of individuals who all care about what happens in the Parish and what we can do to enhance it. Rest assured, it’s not at all like a meeting on The Vicar of Dibley!
If you’re interested to learn more about what’s involved and how you could help, please get in touch with Emma, our Parish Clerk in the first instance. Contact details are on the Contact page on this website.
Mass bulb planting
The Midhurst Green Volunteers have co-ordinated a project to buy and plant over 4000 bulbs in and around Easebourne and Midhurst in the next few weeks – which come spring will brighten up our verges, banks and numerous areas around our communities.
But to do this we need your help!
The planting sessions are on the 7th October and then again on the 14th October. There will be 2 teams, covering Easebourne and Midhurst on both of those dates.
Please check your diaries and come along for an hour if you can. The team will be meeting at 8am on both dates, at the corner of Hollist Lane and Canada Grove.. and at St Annes Hill.
Summer in Easebourne Park
Easebourne Park was looking fabulous in the sunshine today, with the new Roundhouse Roof and our Eco-loo.
It takes a lot of work to keep the Park looking as good as it does. Some of this work is carried out by contractors but a lot of smaller jobs are undertaken by an amazing team of volunteers – Friends of Easebourne Parish – who trim, chop, tidy, plant, water and litter pick!
Lead by Frank, it’s a small team but they do a fantastic job keeping the Park (and other areas of the village) looking it’s best for everyone else to enjoy. If you can lend a hand with some of their tasks, please do get in touch with the Parish Council or frepsec@btinternet.com