Our 2026 AGM at Brighton Road Baptist Church marked a circle in our group’s history as our inaugural meeting was held at the church, back in 2011. This fact was shared by our chairman Diane Sumpter, as she welcomed an enthusiastic audience of around 40 people earlier this year.
Diane went on to share highlights of the past year for the Friends. Last September saw the end of the Southern Water sewer pipe installation project that stretched from Mannings Heath to just beyond the farm’s Queensway entrance. As part of its commitment to restoration, Southern Water donated extra fencing to protect our target Skylark nesting areas and a large water butt, installed behind the Volunteer Centre. Our long-term supporters, UK Power Networks, helped replace the Kestrel nesting box in challenging January weather.
New surveys
Project-wise, new surveys involved both volunteers and members of the Horsham District Council (HDC) countryside warden team, working together to build the farm’s all-important wildlife database. Another ambitious, ongoing project has been to restore the old orchard behind Niron House with some vintage Sussex fruit trees. The Wildlife Garden continues to mature and flourish.
Events featured old favourites like the Bat and Moth Night as well as a new night-sky themed evening. Topping them all in scale has been our popular monthly coffee morning that regularly attracts around 100 local visitors over two hours of hospitality. The community “buzz” is something to experience.
Thanks to all volunteers
In the formal part of the meeting, the outgoing treasurer’s report showed our funds to be in positive shape. The current committee agreed to continue, plus a new treasurer was formally added to the group and an audience member joined the committee. Diane thanked all our conservation, gardening, surveying, litter-picking and hospitality volunteers for their amazing support and commitment over the past year.
The business over, the audience were fascinated by a presentation on recording sightings of the rare Wood White butterfly by David Bridges, leader of Wild About Warnham and manager of the Warnham Butterfly Fields.
Rare Wood White butterfly
David explained that the Wood White is one of the UK’s most threatened species of butterfly. It is very rare in Sussex: until last year there were just two known woodland colonies (just west of Plaistow). It is usually found in woodland – generally along rides with a bit of shade and damp ditches containing its larval foodplants (various trefoils and vetches).
Surveying in 2025, three new colonies were found, plus evidence of Wood Whites wandering more widely across NW West Sussex. Plans in 2026 are to survey as many woods as possible, to assess habitat and look for more Wood White colonies. If successful we would in subsequent years aim to speak with landowners and woodland managers to encourage the creation/maintenance of more good habitat. David commented later: “It was great to talk to such a large, interested and positive group.”
Successful evidence of Dormice
His talk was followed by one on Dormouse monitoring at Chesworth, by countryside warden Liz Jordan, who leads most of the farm’s volunteer surveys. Successful evidence of Dormice, found after a long gap last year, has been a cause for celebration. Liz outlined why monitoring is so important for this rapidly declining species as it “… provides critical data for assessing population viability at local and landscape scales, detecting changes in habitat use in response to management or environmental pressures, informing hedgerow and woodland management… and contributing to national datasets, such as the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme.”
The meeting closed with a lively question and answer session led by Jake Everitt, HDC’s countryside and ecology manager.
The Friends will make the full draft Minutes of the meeting available soon. Please request them if you would like a copy in advance of next year’s AGM.