WATCH: Children invited to celebrate the South Downs in poetry or prose

Chris Hare is project manager for South Downs for All, a project funded jointly by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Friends of the South Downs, aimed at teaching school students about the heritage of the South Downs. He is currently working on a lavish picture book, A Year in the Life of the South Downs. It will show the landscape in all its different forms and moods over a twelve- month period.

As Chris explains: “We photographed the Downland landscape under the influence of the four seasons, from snow dusted hill tops, through bluebell woods in spring, to summer wheat fields and the red and golden leaves of autumn. We also photographed human activity across the year, such as the World Marbles Championship at Tinsley Green at Easter, to Lewes Bonfire celebrations in November. We have the photographs. A ll we need now are the words!”

As South Downs for All is focused on working with schools, the project team felt that it is the children who should provide the words for the book, rather than being written by Chris or other adults working in the field of heritage: “ I could write about the history of the Downs and the traditional activities that take place there,” Chris explains, “as could many other South Downs authors, but the children are our future and they will be custodians of this wonderful landscape in the years ahead, so we want to know what they feel and respond to the South Downs – landscape and people.”

Chris says that they are primarily looking at responses from children aged eight to 12, but they will consider submissions from any school-aged children. Essays and poems should be no longer than 300 words and can be on any theme that has a South Downs connection. To help inspire young writers, the South Downs for All website has a gallery section of photographs, set out under seasonal headings. It is hoped that looking at these photographs will act as a prompt to imaginative thoughts. Any young person whose work is included in the book will be fully acknowledged, including their name and town or village of residence. They will also receive two free copies of the colour, hard-backed book and an invitation to the launch event which will probably take place in late November this year. The photograph gallery can be found at www.southdownsforall.org.uk. All entries should be submitted to Chris Hare by May 31 2023 at [email protected]. All inquiries about the project should be mailed to Chris at the same email address.South Downs for All is a project bringing together eight South Down schools and the Friends of the South Downs (FSD) to enable more children to enjoy the South Downs and learn about its heritage.