Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2017 | Page 80

Country life
Countryside news
By Tony Ridd
A walk on the wetland side
A special corner of Sandown Bay
is being revealed and revitalised
by the not-for-profit, public
space transformer, The Common
Space, thanks to an East Wight
Landscape grant from Down to
the Coast.
The Willow Walk, alongside Dinosaur Isle and
Brown’s Golf Course in Sandown, has been
taking shape all year. A new path carved
through forgotten woodland draws people
past the Pavilion and on to the Lost Duver
wildspace beyond.
The work is being carried out with the help
of the local Community Payback team and
funded by the Bay Coastal Community team
and Arc Consulting. Ian Boyd, founder of The
Common Space and director at Arc explains,
“Consultations held by The Bay Coastal
Community Team throughout 2015/16
showed a great appetite and enthusiasm in
the local and visiting community, for greater
access to public spaces especially those
near to the beach and offering a ‘wildlife
encounter’. The results of this feedback led us
to form The Common Space. The Willow Walk
and Lost Duver are part of this programme.
“It’s become a much-used resource for
people and for wildlife and now, with the
help of Down to the Coast, we can extend our
work.”
By the end of 2017, there will be a complete
path, a new 1km circular trail around the
Browns site, linking together two forgotten
public woodlands, a reed-bed and wetland
experience. Peter Fellows, Down to the Coast
Scheme Manager, explains, “The Willow Walk
project contributes to the conservation and
celebration of East Wight’s unique habitat
and species, revitalising public assets and
bringing them back into use for the benefit of
people and the environment”.
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Other benefactors of ‘Down to the Coast’ Grants
In total, seven local groups have
been celebrating, after becoming
the first recipients of grants
awarded by Down to the Coast
through the East Wight Landscape
Grants programme.
The grants of up to £5,000 will help
a range of local voluntary groups
and charities to look after and
celebrate the East Wight landscape.
Gift to Nature, received money
to improve the condition of the
internationally important chalk
grassland at Nansen Hill, Upper
Bonchurch, while Wight Nature
Fund’s much needed grant will
improve access at their hugely
popular Alverstone Mead hide, one
of the best places on the Island to
encounter Red squirrels.
Kelly Wetherick, Down to the
Coast Project Officer stated: “These
awards are a fantastic start to the
East Wight Landscape Grants
programme, promising to build,
both capacity in the local voluntary
sector and improve ways for people
to enjoy our wonderful landscape.”
For further information on how to
apply for East Wight Landscape
Partnership Grants, see www.
downtothecoast.co.uk.