Carbon Zero Guildford have launched a new community space “ZERO” with a view to driving a community-led climate action plan. Promoting education and solutions for climate mitigation and adaptation, ZERO aims to be a vibrant town centre hub that brings together the work happening locally to help the borough of Guildford and its surrounding area to adapt to a changing planet.

The concept behind Zero is that only around 30% of Guildford’s emissions can be directly tackled by the borough or county council. The remaining 60-70% must be addressed through strategies aimed at reducing consumption, better energy management and waste reduction. Central to this plan is community cohesion; ZERO aims to bring together individuals, projects and organisations and offer resources and platforms for collaboration to enable greater benefits than each individual project alone.

The Society is delighted to be included as an exhibitor at ZERO and is strongly supportive of its aims. We believe that there are opportunities for mutual cooperation, particularly in relation to the Society’s key objects of promoting enjoyment and understanding of the Surrey Hills AONB and encouraging conservation of the landscape and its wildlife. The Society has a wide network of connections that enable it to promote partnership in the community. We are constantly seeking to develop these connections and there is huge opportunity for encouraging volunteers to become involved in environmental protection and restoration, which is one of the key strategic areas identified by ZERO.

ZERO is also focused on 4 other strategic areas laid out by the Climate Change Commission as crucial for mitigation and adaptation to the Climate and ecological crisis. These include:
• Clean energy – with a focus particularly on community energy, support for renewables and smart energy systems
• Active travel infrastructure and behavioural change
• A circular economy and community re-use schemes
• Low carbon solutions, retrofitting, and energy efficiency

Projects currently being undertaken by ZERO include a climate cinema showing films that focus on the climate and environment, a green read/book share, and a community seed bank geared towards protecting biodiversity. They have also received funding from Transition Network to set up a mini vertical farming installation.

Why not visit ZERO at 14-16 Friary Street Guildford GU1 4EH or find out more on their website here

Many of us will almost certainly have over-indulged during the festive season and taken less exercise than usual. However, a good number of us will also be making resolutions to get fit in the New Year. Instead of hitting the gym or joining an exercise class in the village hall, however, why not get out and get active?
The benefits of the great outdoors include reducing blood pressure, keeping our lungs, heart and bones healthy and improving our mental health and wellbeing.

Perhaps we need an extra challenge rather than simply going for another walk. While most of us enjoy a good walk (members of the SHS probably more than most) what about trying out a different type of walking? Nordic walking, with poles, is brilliant exercise, working the upper body and giving a more complete workout. No wonder it is becoming increasingly popular with plenty of local walking groups.

Or perhaps explore a different area close to home. I live just outside of Dorking by Box Hill and most of my dog walks are around local fields, but I recently discovered lovely countryside walks just the other side of Dorking around Westcott. Or why not discover Surrey’s lesser-known villages? Betchworth, Godstone, Shere and Chiddingfold get more than enough visitors, so try exploring villages away from the tourist trail. Perhaps Holmbury St Mary, where EM Forster’s “A Room with a View” is supposedly based, or Outwood, with its grade 1 post mill, picturesque Bramley, or Seale with its hidden gem, the Manor Farm Craft Centre, housed in old farm buildings.

What else apart from walking? The Surrey Hills may be landlocked, but there are many opportunities to get close to water. Willing to give wild swimming a go? Try Divers Cove in Godstone, a former sand extraction site, or Buckland Lake, a 50-acre recreational lake near Reigate. Canoeing and paddleboarding are great fun and help to tone the upper body as well as offering a great opportunity to get close to wildlife.

Cycling is a great family activity and there are plenty of interesting cycle trails that do not involve the Box Hill loop. Check out the Cycling page of the AONB website for ideas. If cycling seems too strenuous e-cycling offers low-impact exercise along with an opportunity to enjoy the countryside at a comfortable pace. It’s possible to hire by the day or as a starting point just by the hour.

Volunteering is another way to stay active and contribute to conserving and protecting our countryside. Opportunities exist with many local organisations especially those concerned with environmental and wilding initiatives.

And for those who prefer to stay home, there is plenty to do in the garden even in January. Gardening benefits our well-being and gives a full body workout particularly when raking, digging or even clearing leaves. Finally for days when the weather really is too inclement to venture out, a spring-clean is not only good for your home but can boost your mood, burn calories and do wonders for your overall health.
Susie Turner

Surrey has been a renowned film location for well over fifty years. One of the earliest blockbusters filmed partly in Surrey was Lawrence of Arabia back in 1962, where Peter O’Toole falling from his motorbike was shot at Chobham Common.

While two of the most often quoted films are Four Weddings and a Funeral and The Holiday, there are a whole raft of TV and film productions that have taken place in Surrey since then and it isn’t hard to understand why. Firstly, its location: Surrey is home to two high-end studios (Shepperton and more recently Longcross) and is close to London as well as Heathrow and Gatwick airports. Secondly, the wonderfully diverse scenery makes the area a perfect stand-in location for many other parts of the country and beyond.

In The Dig, the film about the discovery of Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, Norney Grange in Shackleford, was chosen as Edith Pretty’s home, while Loseley Park near Guildford doubled as Broadlands in Hampshire for recent episodes of The Crown. Netflix’s Bridgerton was filmed partly at Painshill Park and features the 18th century gardens and lake, while Leith Hill Place was transformed to the mother house of the nun’s order in Call the Midwife, even though the series is set in Sussex. Ironically, the famous picnic scene on Box Hill in Jane Austen’s Emma wasn’t filmed there at all, but at nearby Leith Hill.

Certain parts of Surrey are particularly popular and used as locations again and again. They include Frensham Ponds, Waverley Abbey, Painshill Park, Loseley, Bourne Wood (particularly famous for scenes from Harry Potter), the village of Shere and Hankley Common Nature Reserve.

Hankley Common was used for several Bond blockbusters including Skyfall and represented a French battlefield In the epic film 1917. More recently, it is rumoured to be the site for a Netflix production The Sandman. Visitors to Frensham Ponds may also have spotted a Celtic village taking shape for another upcoming Netflix production, The Cursed which also has the romantic remains of Waverley Abbey near Farnham, transformed into a ruined castle. Meanwhile, during last summer, filming of the remake of an Agatha Christie novel, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?, directed by Hugh Laurie and with a star-studded cast, took place at a number of Surrey locations, including Guildford, Mickleham and Shere.

Elsewhere, a scene for a romantic comedy What’s Love Got to Do With It? starring Lily James and Emma Thompson reportedly took place at Ashcombe School in Dorking. Another school enjoying fame earlier in 2021 was Betchworth Primary School which along with Flanchford Farm near Reigate became one of the Surrey based locations for The Larkins.

Finally a mention must be given to West Horsley Place. The 15th century manor house has become the go-to location for a range of television and film productions. One example is the popular Ghosts which was filmed there almost in its entirety – with proceeds from filming contributing to the major restoration programme.

With film production making up for lost time during the pandemic, Netflix significantly increasing activity in the UK, the expansion of both Shepperton and Longcross studios, and the support of the Surrey Film Office, an economic development initiative by Surrey County Council, it seems that the Surrey Hills can only continue as one of England’s prime filming hotspots.

The humble hedgerow is an incredibly important habitat in the British landscape. Consisting of woody managed lines of trees, hedgerows were originally used to mark boundaries and enclose livestock. However, they also provide a multitude of benefits for wildlife, including much-loved species such as the hazel dormouse, hedgehog and barn owl.

Hedgerows containing a mix of native tree species, can provide food sources for nature, such as nuts and berries, throughout the seasons. The flowers of species such as Hawthorn and Blackthorn support a range of invertebrates, which in turn are fed on by bats and birds. However, as well as providing food, hedgerows act as important wildlife corridors, helping wildlife to travel safely across the landscape. This is particularly important for genetic diversity, preventing isolation and inbreeding of small populations, which subsequently become susceptible to disease. Therefore, by allowing wildlife to travel safely across unsuitable areas, hedgerows facilitate dynamic populations of species and increase connectivity between good quality habitats in the landscape.

Alongside the benefits to wildlife, Hedgerows also provide a range of ecosystem services which can be defined as the benefits we gain from ecosystems. Hedgerows can provide regulating ecosystem services, for example by helping to support pollinators of important crops, mitigating flooding and filtering out harmful air pollutants to name but a few. They are also important sequesters of carbon and may be more effective and beneficial than trees, in certain landscape types. We can also gain a wide array of cultural benefits from hedgerows, which act as a symbol of cultural heritage in many farming landscapes.

The coronavirus pandemic has made us all aware of how important nature is for our wellbeing and hedgerows contribute to enjoyment of recreational activities, as well as increasing green features in urban areas.

Since starting my post in early October, I have been working on a range of hedgerow planting projects, including the first tree planting day for the Surrey Hills Champions, a new initiative led by Surrey Hills Enterprises in partnership with Surrey Hills Society. The tree planting day, sponsored by Squires Garden Centres and enterprise M3, took place last Sunday at Clandon Wood Natural Burial Ground and involved the Society helping with planting a 50m stretch of native hedgerow along the perimeter fence. We planted a native mix of six tree species including Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Field Maple, Hazel, Dog Rose and Spindle. This will help to provide a range of food sources for wildlife and will create a nice thick hedge for species to shelter in. It was great to see all our Champions getting involved in the tree planting and there was a wonderful feeling of community spirit as everyone worked in small teams to dig the holes, plant the trees and add the rabbit protection.

In a relatively short period of time, we managed to get all 300 trees planted so thank you to everyone who came along!
We have a few more hedgerow planting projects in the pipeline, including the extension of the hedge at Clandon Wood by a further 250m.

If you would like to be involved in further planting projects, please do get in touch. Our hedgerow projects are helping to increase connectivity across the Surrey Hills which will have great benefits for nature and our beloved landscape. You can find out more about becoming a Surrey Hills Champion here.

Christa Emmett
Surrey Hills Project and Volunteer Coordinator