Well, not so much "kick-starting" as gently leading you into this years month long festival of walking. The privilege of being the first walk provider this year falls to Surrey Hills Society with their Yew Tree walk at Newlands Corner on Sunday 1st September. The Society has been a long-standing supporter and sponsor of Guildford Walkfest so it seems reasonable to promote them a bit in this last blog before we start the festival.
The Society was set up back in 2008 to promote what was then known as the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Yes, I know that's a mouthful and many folks have asked what one of those is. Fortunately, following a government sponsored review a couple of years ago, the powers that be came up with a new wheeze - National Parks and AONBs are now all known as National Landscapes! Remits have changed nationally but as far as Surrey is concerned, the change has been overlaid by a Boundary Review led by Natural England which looks as if it will increase the size of the protected landscape known as the Surrey Hills.
Significant parts of Guildford Borough fall within this boundary so it is only logical that the Society should get involved in the festival. After all, part of their remit is to promote, protect, educate and otherwise do things that leave the landscape in a better condition. At it's core is a membership body which puts on walks, talks, visits and other things that help people get out and learn more about the area - after all, what you use, understand and appreciate you tend to look after and act as a custodian for.
But that is not all the Society does. In recent years, much work has been done to develop hands on project work with volunteers, businesses and "hard to reach" groups of various sorts. Current and recent projects include hedgerow planting schemes, scrub clearance (particularly with groups such as Surrey Choices), tree planting days out as corporate events and their most recent project - working with a farm in the east of the county "to provide rural and farm visits designed to promote therapeutic care for individuals facing physical, mental, and emotional challenges."
Many of these, and other, projects are grant funded - for example National Lottery or Mental Health Investment Fund (MHIF) - and are only granted because (1) the Society is a charity and hence not a statutory body or profit making entity, and (2) the Society has created a great reputation for delivering on projects and introducing - quite literally - thousands of new volunteers to the Surrey Hills and the pleasures of getting involved in nature based work.
Oh, and another project which is going on in the Surrey Hills at the moment is for a children’s book entitled "The Thousand Year Tree". This is a creative collaboration between Lucy Reynolds (author); Katie Hickey (illustrator); the Surrey Hills Society; the Guildford Book Festival; Surrey County Council; and Weyfield Primary Academy, Guildford. Over the summer, there has been a children’s design competition to help create the endpapers for the book (closing date 4th September with more details HERE). And what is the theme of the book? You've guessed it! Yes, it's the Yew Tree and where better to find those than at Newlands Corner during our first Walkfest event.
We hope to see you there - but don't forget to book. Click HERE
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