Schoolchildren Help Protect Speckled Wood
A funeral home was transformed with a wildlife display by Ore Community Land Trust (Ore CLT) and pupils of Sandown Primary School to help protect North East Hastings’ last green area from urbanisation, raising awareness in time for World Environment Day. Speckled Wood is protected from development by Ore CLT; Banfield & Pomphrey Funeral Directors’ striking window display on nearby Old London Road is grabbing the attention of
local families and passers-by to help raise awareness of its importance.
Tony Hart, Funeral Director at Banfield & Pomphrey, says: “Banfield & Pomphrey is very fortunate being situated on Old London Road. Not only do we get a great view of the last green lung in North-East Hastings, Speckled Wood, we’re also in a very busy area and can stand out with our window display.”
Thanking the pupils of Sandown Primary, for the “transformed windows”, he says he hopes it “inspires the residents of Hastings to support the Ore Community Land Trust.”
Unlike much of Hastings, Speckled Wood has become greener over the last century, with a street that used to run through the woodland being demolished in the 1950s and allotments originally allocated to World War I soldiers being abandoned to nature in the 1960s. Ore CLT was established in 2012 to ensure the woodland’s continued protection against urbanisation, with parts of the 13-acre woodland still being owned by various individuals and organisations.
Ore CLT has also been able to purchase its own plots of land in Speckled Wood to guarantee their preservation, thanks largely to grant funding from Big Local North-East Hastings. Jim Breeds, Chair of Ore CLT, explains: “Every now and then someone tries to secure planning permission in Speckled Wood, which is where we come in to campaign for its preservation”. He pointed out the importance of the continued support of Hastings residents in their success and how “Sandown Primary along with Banfield & Pomphrey have been a massive help in raising awareness.”
Kate Tugwell, Deputy Head at Sandown Primary, said: “There’s a strong ‘outdoor learning’ ethos at Sandown and we embrace any opportunity to bring the natural world into our pupils’ wider experience. To be able to support the Speckled Wood project was a pleasure.”
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