A sum of £70,000 supported projects which focused on reducing carbon emissions and safeguarding the High Weald and its landscape. 21 projects were completed; 3 focused on conservation, 3 on heritage, 6 on sustainable energy, 5 on rural economy, 1 on community and 3 on sustainable education projects.
Reroofing the Visitor's Centre
Project Description: Training of local volunteers to produce shingles from local timber using traditional craft techniques. The shingles have been used to re-roof Wilderness Wood's visitor barn.
Awarded: £4,400
Installation of Woodchip Boiler
Project Description: Installation of a woodchip boiler to heat 2 workshops used to produce furniture. To use knowledge gained through the project to publicise to similar enterprises, via open days, the potential of woodchip boilers as a sustainable energy resource.
Awarded: £4,900
Wind Energy
Project Description: Installation of two Windsave Micro Wind Turbines on Turners Hill Primary School premises to support the school's sustainable energy programme.
Awarded: £1,400
Landscape restorations at RSPB Broadwater Warren
Project Description: Archaeological and ecological surveys of the Broadwater Warren nature reserve . The project also included habitat work such as the removal of rhododendron ponticum throughout the area.
Awarded: £6,800
Energy Awarness Project - SLUSH
Project Description: Installation of solar panels to support Hever School's sustainable energy programme as part of a winder eco-school programme.
Awarded: £3,500
Protect our future
Project Description: First phase of the installation of solar panels to produce a sutatinable energy resource for Claremont Primary School, supporting its cross durricular educational programme.
Awarded: £1,425
Heathland Hebridean
Project Description: This is an alliance between the owners of 3 flocks of Hebridean sheep. The sheep are being used for conservation grazing of High Weald heathlands . The project has supported marketing aids such as a website and events tool kit (which has enabled promotional events such as the Ashdown Forest sheep walk) and undertaken some product development such as the production of clothing and wool kits from the sheep's wool.
Awarded: £3,521
Coppice Sawmill Project
Project Description: To purchase one piece of saw milling equipment for a small timber business that uses local materials.
Awarded: £3,000
Medieval Hedgerow
Project Description: This project has supported restoration of a medieval hedgerow which lies on the boundary between the Wadhurst clay and a Tunbridge Wells sand outcrop. The hedgerow, which is 470 m in length, has been cut. 100m of the field has been cleared of brash. 200m of barbed wire has been removed and the ditch has been fully excavated.
Awarded: £2,100
Woodlots Website
Project Description: Woodlots is an organisation which promotes local timber and wood products grown sustainably in the High Weald. The project enabled additional features to be added to the website www.woodlots.org.uk - an interactive searchable database, immediate online publication of advertisements and an online notification process.
Awarded: £2,000
Weald & Downland Ancient Woodland Survey
Project Description: The desk-based component of the revision of the Ancient Woodland Inventory for Rother District. The inventory will ensure that ancient woodlands less than two hectares are identified and listed.
Awarded: £3,750
Woodland re-development
Project Description: To produce a 10 year conservation plan to develop a woodland site in school grounds so that Cranbrook Primary School can utilise this area as an outside classroom.
Awarded: £2,000
Promoting local produce for school meals
Project Description: Evaluation of the scope to introduce local produce into school meals in East and West Sussex. This involved visiting French schools that currently use local products to produce school meals and looking at local case studies to see the viability of a new approach in High Weald schools.
Awarded: £1,885
Cultural Heritage of Woodlands in the South East
Project Description: Publication of 500-1000 copies of the Cultural Heritage of Woodlands in the South East. The book is being widely distributed within the High Weald AONB to organisations and individuals to raise awareness of the importance of woodlands.
Awarded: £2,000
High Weald Heroes Welly Walks
Project Description: Production of High Weald Welly Walks leaflets for schools involved with the High Weald Heroes scheme and encouragement of the wider community to use the information to discover the High Weald. Individual schools were involved with the pre-production and walking the route. It encourages schools to use their immediate landscape as a cross-curricular resource without unnecessary travel.
Awarded: £1,368
Solar Panels
Project Description: Installation of solar panels to support Skinners School in their sustainable energy programme which is part of a wider conservation school programme.
Awarded: £2,000
Burwash Primary School Meadows Project
Project Description: Land turned over to make a meadow outside classroom. The project has allowed the school to purchase High Weald Meadow seed and make the ground good for sowing in autumn as well as making the area safe and secure with fencing.
Awarded: £2,298
Sussex Community Rail Project
Project Description: Promotion and management of two guided walks along the High Weald line between Tonbridge and Hastings to engage with the wider community and support for other community engagement events.
Awarded: £3,317
Trim Trail
Project Description: Installation of a timber Trim Trail in an unused section of Brenchley & Matfield Primary School playing field. They are a High Weald Heroes school and this part of a wider scheme to understanding their local landscape.
Awarded: £2,994
Trifor Winch
Project Description: Purchase of a specialised Tirfor winch by a local tree surgeon which enables woodland management in dense forested areas that are impassable to vehicles. The winch allows sensitive parts of dense woodland to be managed without affecting the surrounding trees.
Awarded: £595
Sussex Barn
Project Description: Ben Law has designed a Sussex Barn to be built on land at the Pestalozzi International Village. The barn will be used as a training establishment to support local woodcraft skills.
Awarded: £2,400