National Nature Reserves Week 2023

24th May 2023

Between 20 and 29 May 2023, the first National Nature Reserves Week celebrates some of our most significant places for nature.

At South East Water, we own Lullington Heath National Nature Reserve in Friston Forest, East Sussex, which is managed by Natural England. This is one of the dozens of protected or designated sites we own or manage for biodiversity

Lullington was recently named one of the first of five in the King's Series of National Nature Reserves which will be designated or expanded in the future.

In fact, Lullington is the only one selected to protect groundwater in the chalk aquifers beneath the South DownsNational Park, the source of the drinking water for many Sussex residents.

Over the last five years, we have been gathering research as part of the PROWATER project to understand how land management changes can impact the quantity and quality of our underground water resources.

These scientific findings will be used as evidence to support our ambition to turn the site into a Super National Nature Reserve in 2024, working alongside Natural England and other local landowners and managers.

Black and white picture of Friston Forst as heathland back in the 1930's
Today, this area is a dense commercial woodland but generations ago, this would have been a vast chalk grassland.
Colour image of Friston Forest in 2017 full of trees

The native chalk grassland which grows across this landscape is the UK equivalent of the Amazon rainforest, rich with wildlife with beautiful scenes and is at the heart of landscapes and communities.

Supporting these rare, species-rich habitats is key to increasing the landscape’s resilience to the impacts of climate change and population growth.

Read more about the PROWATER project and how land management can improve resilience against drought or flooding.

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