What makes the South Downs our national park?
18 November 2024
The South Downs National Park is so much more than rolling English countryside.
It’s our oxygen, our inspiration, our happy place. It feeds us, waters us and brings us together. And it teaches us about our past, present and future.
If we take care of it, it’ll take care of us.
This is the message of Your National Park: a collection of short films we made for the South Downs National Park Authority.
Designated a national park in 2010, the South Downs have been a uniquely living landscape, with people living and working in it, for thousands of years. The films are intended as a celebration of what’s special about the Downs, but also a pertinent reminder of the role we can all play in conserving the intertwining nature and culture on our doorsteps.
This is their national park. What’s ours?
There are 10 stories, each inviting viewers to follow a champion of the South Downs on a journey of self-discovery through their national park as they see it. A ranger, a forester, a butterfly conservationist, a local climate campaigner, two historians, two inclusive walk leaders, a sustainable brewer, an art therapist, a teacher and a youth ambassador.
For them, the South Downs are a sanctuary, a classroom, a community, a life’s work, a sacred resting place. And a home worth saving.
By sharing ‘their’ South Downs, the films ask “What’s yours?”. They inspire us to look closely at how we can solve some of our most urgent social as well as environmental problems.
Working with this group over the changing seasons, we were able to capture a vivid window into the diverse life, habitats and human history embedded in the national park’s revered ecosystem. Now, reflecting back on the meaning of these stories, we can see how a sense of belonging to nature can bring us together as people, whatever our differences.
Stories to get us looking more closely
Ranger Paul Gorringe was among the first we filmed, over in the Eastern Downs above Whitehawk in Brighton. It’s full of flora and fauna and neolithic heritage — the kind of things you might not expect to find so close to an urban area. Perhaps especially one that has a reputation for being deprived and uncared for.
But for Paul, this is part of the magic. As someone who grew up in the area, he feels passionately about the Downs being accessible to everyone. And he works hard to involve local people in looking after his ‘patch’ and finding joy and connection in it.
When people come up here for the first time, they can’t believe the beauty on their doorstep.
“Whitehawk Hill and Sheepcote Valley are where I cut my teeth as a ranger and naturalist. It’s here I learned how to get people volunteering and feeling a sense of ownership.
“In summer, the valley blooms with wildflowers and rare butterflies — like a rainforest in miniature. When people come up here for the first time, they can’t believe the beauty on their doorstep. How can you not love a place like the South Downs, especially one so connected to the city and the sea?”
Stories to show us we belong
Toward the end of the project, we had the privilege of meeting inclusive walk leaders Saira Niazi and Kelly Smith. Through their walking groups, activism and storytelling, Saira and Kelly are blazing an inclusive trail through the South Downs, breaking down the social barriers that have kept people — including women of colour — from being part of it.
“To see people who look like you demystifies the landscape,” explained Saira. “Whether walking alone or with others, we’re able to make it our own.”
Every one of the 10 people we in these films is an inspiration. They show us ways we can interact with and contribute to our national park. They show us how we can come together to protect and enrich it for generations to come. And they show us how we can find common connection in it and one another.
Just as nature opens us up to one another, so too — we hope — will this collection of stories.
Where to watch the films
South Downs Way film trail
An interactive trail featuring the films was installed along the breadth of the South Downs Way, from Holden Farm in Hampshire to Beachy Head in Eastbourne.
On Brighton’s Latest TV
(18-29 November)
On South Downs National Park’s Youtube channel
