Changing Chalk

Changing Chalk: connecting nature, people and heritage

Working in partnership to connect nature, people and heritage for the future of the Downs

Changing Chalk is a partnership of organisations supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund working together for the future of the South Downs. Through this project, we are reversing the decline of the fragile chalk grassland, and connecting local communities to the nationally significant landscape on their doorstep. Led by the National Trust, the partnership connects nature, people and heritage. It is restoring lost landscapes and habitats, bringing history to life and offering new experiences in the outdoors.

The Big Dig – Defined by Nature 

The Downs and Towns have a long, shared history. The rolling chalk grasslands have shaped the development of the urban areas at its fringes, with people through the centuries relying on the unique landscape for their existence and later for their wealth. ​

Yet many of today’s communities are unaware of the unique story lying under the land they walk on every day. Now, the Changing Chalk partnership is taking steps to unearth this hidden history with the launch of the Big Dig led by Eastbourne Borough Council's Heritage Eastbourne team.

Big Dig will show archaeology in action, with local volunteers digging small test pits in back gardens, allotments, school grounds and public spaces in carefully selected areas. With the support of a team of Flying Archaeologists and a live ‘Incident Room’, new discoveries made by the project will help map the story of Eastbourne and its surrounding areas.​

They will also officially declare Heritage Eastbourne’s first archaeology amnesty, as part of a wider initiative to delve deeper into the town’s history and everyday life experience through time. ​

The project will engage Eastbourne residents with the origins of their town and how the Downland environment has moulded everyday life for centuries. The project will inspire and empower volunteers to help reveal the story through research and archaeology. The community-led activities in Eastbourne will become a platform for other locales to explore their place within the South Downs.