Meet some of our new volunteer Woods Mill Nature Reserve Wardens

Emma Chaplin
, 19 February 2026
Meet some of our new volunteer Woods Mill Nature Reserve Wardens
Some volunteer wardens: Sophie, Lynne, Mel, Liz, Tony © Emma Chaplin

Since late 2025, a small team of volunteers have been covering shifts in new roles as Nature Reserve Wardens at Woods Mill - Liz, Tony, Lynne and Colin. They have been patrolling the reserve in high-vis tabards, checking everything is okay, picking litter, dealing with or reporting any issues, as well as chatting to visitors. We are pleased that the team is being expanded with the addition of new volunteers, featured here as well.

We hear a bit more from some of the team: 

Liz

I retired two years ago after working for Horsham District Council and have volunteered for the Trust since then, with the Hit Squads, with Wilder Horsham District and is as a Woods Mill Wardens. I enjoy the fresh air and exercise, getting to know the reserves, learning about nature management and expanding my knowledge of flora and fauna, as well as being with like-minded, friendly people. My favourite wild space is Levin Down Nature Reserve. I've enjoyed work parties where we've removed scrub to improve the chalk grassland to encourage more diverse wildflowers and insects. It's quite a climb to the top but it's worth it for the stunning views.

Tony

I’m a retired teacher and have been a volunteer with the Trust for the past couple of years, with the Hit Squads, and now as a Woods Mill Warden. I like doing something useful for nature conservation and I like the camaraderie. My favourite wild spaces in Sussex are Levin Down and Ebernoe. It’s exhausting volunteering at Levin because of the steep slope, but the views are very special. And at Ebernoe Common Nature Reserve, by the Brick Kiln, we were once surrounded by Nightingales singing all day long as we built a dead hedge.

Lynne

I’m semi-retired, live in Hove, and am a keen sailor and hiker. I’ve been a volunteer for the Trust for three years, helping with Adult Education, as a Lookerer at Ditchling Beacon, plus I’m a Woods Mill Warden. I'd be outdoors anyway, so why not help out while I'm at it? I also believe strongly in the vital importance of the Wildlife Trusts and am happy to do my small bit. Ditchling Beacon is my favourite wild space in Sussex, because it is my ‘local’ and was always such an easy place to escape to when work/childcare and the world in general threatened to overwhelm me.

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Erika:

    Do you need more volunteer woods mill wardens

    03 Mar 2026 12:23:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Hi Erika. The more the better! Our Volunteer Coordinator Julia is on leave at the moment, but if you email her, she will get back to you on her return [email protected] Thank you

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782508185.47920 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782508185.50480.0256Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782508185.5050.0002Server address: 216.73.217.174
1782508185.5050Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782508185.5050Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/meet-some-of-our-new-volunteer-woods-mill-nature-reserve-wardens
    [s] => meet-some-of-our-new-volunteer-woods-mill-nature-reserve-wardens
    [1] => meet-some-of-our-new-volunteer-woods-mill-nature-reserve-wardens
)
1782508185.50530.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782508185.50610.0008 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782508185.50750.0014 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782508185.5080.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782508185.50990.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22325913
1782508185.51040.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22325913
1782508185.51090.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-26 21:09:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-26 21:09:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782508185.5120.0012 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='meet-some-of-our-new-volunteer-woods-mill-nature-reserve-wardens')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 21:09:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782508185.51470.0026 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782508185.51530.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3869 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 21:09:00'
1782508185.5160.0007 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782508185.51660.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782508185.51710.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=195 LIMIT 1
1782508185.51750.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=79 LIMIT 1
1782508185.51790.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=47 LIMIT 1
1782508185.51840.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782508185.51870.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782508185.51960.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 21:09:00' AND postSlug='meet-some-of-our-new-volunteer-woods-mill-nature-reserve-wardens'
1782508185.54070.0211Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782508185.54110.0004 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782508185.54240.0013Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782508185.54260.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782508185.54330.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782508185.54430.001 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782508185.54890.0046 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782508185.54960.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782508185.55180.0022Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782508185.55180 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782508185.55260.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782508185.5530.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782508185.55580.0028 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782508185.55690.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782508185.55760.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782508185.55960.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782508185.56040.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782508185.56230.0019 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782508185.56280.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782508185.56310.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782508185.56370.0006Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782508185.56410.0003 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='meet-some-of-our-new-volunteer-woods-mill-nature-reserve-wardens')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 21:09:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782508185.56620.0021 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782508185.56690.0007 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782508185.56890.002Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782508185.57010.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3869 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782508185.61750.0475 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782508185.61830.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782508185.61850.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782508185.61930.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782508185.620.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782508185.62050.0005 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782508185.62240.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782508185.62280.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782508185.62460.0017 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782508185.62540.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782508185.62590.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782508185.62630.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782508185.63070.0044 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782508185.63280.0021 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782508185.63560.0028 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782508185.63950.0039 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782508185.64020.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782508185.64070.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782508185.64280.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782508185.64330.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782508185.64510.0018 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782508185.64790.0028 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782508185.64840.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782508185.64880.0004 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782508185.65060.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782508185.65110.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782508185.65280.0016 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782508185.6540.0012Request time: 0.1758
1782508185.6540Process time: 0.1756
1782508185.6540Memory: 1.6234