To slow the spread of coronavirus, lockdown across the UK is keeping many of us away from the outdoors. Here are 10 simple ways to maintain that crucial connection with the countryside that we need.

Through your window

1. Many of us have whiled away the hours finding the shapes of familiar and fantastical objects in clouds as they drift by. But you can also use them to tell what weather might be about to come our way. For example, cumulonimbus clouds (the ‘King of Clouds’) towering high in the sky mean heavy rain is likely to be on its way.

There’s an old saying about cumulonimbus clouds: ‘mountains in the morning, fountains in the evening’. The Met Office has an interesting cloud-spotting guide. Why not look up now and see what clouds you can spot?

Time out can be a great chance for some dreamy cloud-watching

2. If you’re lucky enough to live in an area relatively free of light pollution, then try a spot of stargazing. You should easily be able to pick out the constellation of Orion if you look to the south. CPRE’s annual Star Count, held each February, is based around the stars you can see in Orion.

Looking north you can find Ursa Major, the Great Bear. Part of this constellation, shaped like a ladle, is pretty easy to distinguish: this is called the Plough in the UK and the Big Dipper in the US and Canada.

3. Watch wildlife from your window: what signs of spring can you spot? There are butterflies on the wing during sunnier days now. These will be the insects that hibernated over winter: brimstones, peacocks and red admirals for example. They’ll be hungry and will be looking for nectar to feed on: fortunately, there’s plenty of blossom coming out on the trees now, along with buds and catkins.

4. Wake up early and open your window to hear the best of the birdsong. The dawn chorus is building up now, often led by the blackbird which usually starts singing first, although robins can perform through the night.

Some birds have simpler songs which makes them easy to identify by sound. Listen for the two note ‘tea-cher, tea-cher’ of the great tit, and the three note ‘coo-cooo-coo’ of the collared dove.

Swallows can be seen returning to our skies – keep your eyes peeled! | Jacob Spinks, Northamptonshire

5. And look out for the first summertime birds arriving from Africa, where they’ve spent the winter. Swallows, house martins, and – a little later – swifts will all be back over the next month or so. Even if you can’t get outdoors, these three should be easy to see if they’re swooping through the skies near you. Each year, a swallow will fly an incredible 12,427 miles between its nesting site in the UK and wintering grounds in southern Africa.

With a garden, balcony or window box

6. Smelling a flower can really lift the spirits, and there are some wonderful springtime scents to seek out. Sometimes you have to get up quite close, or down on the ground, but it is well worth it to inhale the perfume of a primrose, for example! English bluebells, which flower in April and May, have a lovely fresh aroma.

7. Birds are busily building nests and laying eggs. So a little extra food and water can be very helpful, especially if there’s a frost. Treats that birds can grab with the minimum of fuss, like sunflower hearts which have the shells of the seeds removed, are popular.

You can also think about what you might plant in your garden this year that could benefit birds and other wildlife with nectar, fruit and seeds later on…

8. …And now is the perfect time to plant seeds! Growing plants, whether for food, flowers or wildlife, can be very therapeutic. There’s something almost magical about a seed transforming into a seedling. Fast-growing plants like radishes, rocket, broad beans and sunflowers are great for getting children hooked on horticulture!

The sun on your face can give a real boost

9. Close your eyes and feel the sun on your face, even if it’s just for a minute or two. Experiencing this warmth on your skin is wonderful after being cooped up indoors, so take advantage of it when we have sunny days.

Rain can be refreshing too, and there’s that wonderful smell, ‘petrichor’, produced when the water hits dry soil.

10. Explore your garden at night: what creatures are visiting, what can you see, smell and hear? Listen out for hedgehogs snuffling and see if you can find bats flitting around. If you’re near woodland, you might be lucky enough to hear an owl or two. And even the tiniest of windowboxes can attract moths!

For more ideas visit the CPRE site at https://www.cpre.org.uk/discover/countryside-connections/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=engagingnetworks&utm_campaign=CU-0420_members&utm_content=Campaigns+update+April+2020+-+members

Truffles food van will be coming to Poynings on TUESDAY and THURSDAY next week at the playing fields at 0845hrs.

See, there are thing to look forward to…

Fuel Coffee House

Hey Guys, you can pre-order our burgers for tonight now online at https://www.fuel-coffee-house.com/burgers or give us a call on 01903 815958 when we open at 5:30pm 😃.

Pick up and Free local no contact delivery to Upper Beeding, Steyning, Small Dole, Henfield & Poynings.

Top engineer Ian converting Percy the pie van to help deliver extra fruit and veg boxes to vulnerable customers, it will be out on the road next week

The Farm shop is open and trading as normal, if you would like a delivery of food then please see the options below:

Farm Shop delivery

Since the coronavirus has made us close the doors of the garden centre, we are running a delivery service from the Farm Shop. 

For this week (March 30 – April 5) we have four options:

1. Veg Box: contains a selection of vegetables, we try to vary the items from week to week, depending upon market availability. The cost of the box is £15
   
2. Fruit box: with a mix of apples, satsuma’s, pears, bananas, grapes etc. Again, we do our best to vary from week to week. The cost of this box is £10
   
3. Dairy selection: contains a small loaf of bread (brown or white), 1ltr milk, 6 eggs, and approx. 250 grams of cheese (a mild cheddar). The cost of this box is £8
   
4. Selection of the Butchery: our butcher Paul said he is ready to go, so if you would like any meat, sausages, bacon, mince etc. just add that to your order. The price differs per item.
   

   Due to the overwhelming response, we aren’t able to guarantee a delivery time or day, we have more than one van going around, so we should be able to cover a wide deliver area on the same day. If you are not in, we can’t come back on the same day, you’ll have to wait until we deliver in your area again. We hope that this will meet some of your needs during these difficult times.
   

   For up to date information go to https://www.rushfields.com/farm-shop

The South Downs National Park has created a new interactive map to help you search & find suppliers, deliveries and support local to where you live.

The map also has details for community support groups who can help those isolating.

Click Here for details

Asda’s have launched a dedicated volunteer shopping card to help the many people self-isolating and unable to go out to buy their shopping.
Customers can buy these shopping cards online, top up and give to their family member, friend, or NHS volunteer to pay for their shopping without the hassle of using cash or bank cards.
This also promotes a contactless way of shopping, essential for reducing risk to our self-isolating customers.
These volunteer shopping cards can be bought at asda.com/volunteercard