Public survey - tell us your views!

East & West Sussex and Brighton & Hove are home to wondrous and iconic wildlife, including internationally rare habitats and species.

But like the rest of the UK, nature in Sussex urgently needs our help. Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRS) are a new, England-wide approach to do that, and everyone in Sussex can take part.

How to get involved

If you live in East or West Sussex or Brighton & Hove take this survey to tell us what's important to you. Your answers will inform the priorities for nature at the heart of the two Local Nature Recovery Strategies being developed for Sussex. Find out more at SussexNatureRecovery.org.uk

This survey has 17 questions and may take about 5-10 minutes to complete. It closes on 30th June 2024.

Bluebells in Sussex

Your data privacy
East Sussex County Council and West Sussex County Council are each developing a Local Nature Recovery Strategy for their area, under the banner of Sussex Nature Recovery.

The information you give us will be collected by SurveyMonkey. It will be treated as confidential, anonymised in our research and stored and processed in accordance with our privacy policy. This survey asks for some personal information to help us understand if we’re hearing from a cross-section of Sussex residents, but you don’t have to answer them. Personal data will be deleted after 5 years. If you have a question about your data, email: info@SussexNatureRecovery.org.uk

Survey questions

Question Title

* 1. Which part of Sussex do you live in? This tells us which LNRS your answers will be part of. There will be one LNRS for West Sussex and one for East Sussex and Brighton & Hove.

East Sussex

West Sussex

Brighton & Hove

None of the above

What do you love or value?

Question Title

* 2. Where do you enjoy nature locally. Tick any that apply.

Your garden, land or allotment

Around your neighbourhood, along roads, in front of buildings

Along public footpaths, bridleways or byways

Local parks and other public green spaces

Larger natural areas such as nature reserves, lakes, rivers, woodlands, National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs)/National Landscapes

The beach, harbour areas or in/on the sea

Sports/leisure grounds or other facilities (e.g. golf courses, playing fields etc.)

Heritage or cultural sites (e.g. churchyards, National Trust properties, museums etc.)

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 3. Where are your favourite places to enjoy nature in Sussex? Tell us up to 3. Use the official place name if you know it. You can also give us a brief reason why they're your favourite if you'd like to.

Place 1

Reason

Place 2 (optional)

Reason

Place 3 (optional)

Reason

Question Title

* 4. Are there any habitats (e.g. hedgerows, woodlands, grasslands, meadows, coastal/marine, wetlands, streams/rivers, heathland, etc.) that you especially like seeing or knowing they are in your county? Tell us up to 3. You can also give a brief reason if you'd like to.

Habitat 1

Reason

Habitat 2 (optional)

Reason

Habitat 3 (optional)

Reason

Question Title

* 5. Are there any species of wildlife (e.g. types of plants, animals, birds, fish, insects etc.) that you especially enjoy seeing or knowing that they’re in your county? Tell us up to 3. You can also give a brief reason if you'd like to.

Species 1

Reason

Species 2 (optional)

Reason

Species 3 (optional)

Reason

Question Title

* 6. Do you feel you can access nature easily? Tick any that apply.

Yes - Within easy walking distance

Yes - Within further walking/cycling distance

Yes - Within a longer distance if I drive or take public transport

No, I can't access nature easily. (If you're happy to provide, is there a reason for this?)

What changes have you noticed?

Question Title

* 7. Have you noticed any changes to habitats or species in your county? It doesn't matter what time frame this is over. Tick any that apply.

I’ve seen a decrease in the amount of wildlife/species

I’ve seen an increase in the amount of wildlife/species

I've noticed negative changes to habitats (e.g. damage, loss, poor management, pollution etc.)

I've noticed positive changes to habitats (e.g. creation of new spaces for nature, active management for nature)

No, I’m not aware of any changes

Not sure or don’t know

Question Title

* 8. If you've seen changes to wildlife/species, can you tell us a little more about what you’ve noticed? (If you've not seen any changes, leave this blank)

Question Title

* 9. If you've seen changes to habitats, can you tell us a little more about what you’ve noticed? (If you've not seen any changes, leave this blank)

Question Title

* 10. Are there any habitats or species that you think are at risk or are damaged, that you'd like to see more of, or recovered in Sussex in the future? (If none, leave this blank).

Habitat 1

Habitat 2

Species 1

Species 2

Question Title

* 11. How concerned are you about the current state or future of nature in Sussex? Please select one answer below.

Not concerned

Somewhat concerned

Very concerned

Not sure/don't know

Question Title

* 12. Helping nature recover has benefits for people as well as for wildlife. What wider benefits of nature's recovery would you want to see/experience locally? Tick any that apply.

More nature near to where I live

Economic benefits (such as more visitors/tourism, or from farming, fishing, forestry etc.)

Opportunity to access nature for my mental or physical health

Knowing positive action for nature is taking place

Cleaner air or water

More shade/urban cooling

A reduction in the impact of flooding/storms

More carbon captured/stored

Seeing more wildlife

Other (please specify)

Question Title

About you

Question Title

* 13. What age group are you in?

Under 18

18-30

31-45

46-60

61-75

76+

Question Title

* 14. What Local Authority/council area do you live in?

Adur & Worthing

Arun

Brighton & Hove

Chichester

Crawley

Eastbourne

Hastings

Horsham

Lewes

Mid Sussex

Rother

Wealden

Question Title

* 15. Do you consider yourself to have a disability, whether physical or not?

Yes

Prefer not to say

Question Title

* 16. What's your ethnicity?

White

Black, Black British, Caribbean or African

Asian or British Asian

Arab or British Arab

Mixed or multiple ethnic groups

Prefer not to say

Other (please specify)

Question Title

* 17. If you have any other comments or questions about Local Nature Recovery Strategies for East or West Sussex, please feel free to add them here.

Thank you so much for completing this survey and contributing to your Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
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