BBC Countryfile visits Brighton
Look out for the council’s rangers and volunteer shepherds on BBC Countryfile this Sunday.
Ranger Paul Gorringe, lookerers Stephen Wrench and Kirsty Sloman and South Downs National Park Chief Executive Trevor Beatty are interviewed as part of this special celebrating the 70th anniversary of our National Parks.
Countryfile presenter Charlotte Smith visited the ridge at Sheepcote Valley (which is within the National Park) to find out about the pressures of managing people, wildlife and the landscape in the busiest and most densely populated National Park in the country.
“We then moved on to Whitehawk Hill, a key gateway to the National Park, to talk about the council’s ground breaking grazing project, how we see local people as an asset rather than a barrier, how we engage with them and how our volunteers support us in different ways across the city,” said Paul.
“One of our urban shepherds explained how he lives with depression and other mental health issues, and that his role as a lookerer really helps him through a connection with the sheep and the land”.