Group volunteers undertake important conservation work

Around 30 members met at Pattison’s Walk on a sunny morning on Saturday, September 26, sporting hi vis jackets and armed with litter pickers and sacks.

The group members worked their way along the beach between the Bluebird Café and Sea Lane. Around 16 bags of rubbish was collected consisting of the usual types of litter, drink containers, bottle caps and lids, paper, plastic and cartons.

Jane Hayman, Ferring Conservation Group’s publicity officer, said: “A student from Chichester College will soon be reunited with his college security pass, as this was spotted among the shingle by one of our eagle eyed volunteers. A very grateful lady was also reunited with her iphone which she had lost a little earlier while walking her dog on the beach, and we took the opportunity to sign her up as a new member of our group.”

The beach clean was carried out as part of the Great British Beach Clean sponsored by the Marine Conservation Society.

Members of the group teamed up with volunteers organised by West Sussex County Council to improve the three footpaths leading from the village to the Ferring Rife, at the far ends of Brook Lane, Clover Lane and Ferringham Way. The paths had been overgrown by vegetation and the surfaces were extremely muddy in places despite some work having been completed by the group early in 2016. This was the latest in a series of practical projects around the village. Around 20 volunteers from both organisations cut back brambles, nettles and overhanging branches, using hand and power tools.

Between them the volunteers laid a total of five large builders bags of material to give the paths a firm and more stable surface. The material was supplied by local builders merchants, Benton Weatherstone, and it was paid for by Ferring Parish Council, with whom the group works very closely to enhance the village.

At the end of a hard morning’s work, all three paths’ borders had been cut back and the surfaces were left in a good state, which will allow residents and visitors to reach the river in comfort even after adverse weather.

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