Marine madness, a trip to Mars and wacky wildlife are among dozens of events being staged this spring and summer in West Sussex by the ECHO project.
ECHO, which stands for the Environmental Community Heritage Outreach Project, is a Heritage Lottery initiative.
Its aim is to encourage people to enjoy and become involved in their local heritage sites, and to develop resources for schools and co
mmunity groups.
The three partner members of the project are the Friends of Pagham Harbour, Hotham Park Heritage Trust and the South Downs Planetarium.
Members of the three organisations, which are all charities, are all volunteers.
They have just produced a colourful booklet to publicise a programme of events throughout the spring and summer months at the three locations.
Pagham Harbour is a nature reserve managed by West Sussex County Council. Events publicised in the booklet include a chance for children aged eight to 12 to go on a mini beast safari looking for crab spiders and froghoppers.
There is also a herb walk round the reserve to find out about the folklore and medicinal properties of plants.
At the South Downs Planetarium, in Chichester, there is a programme of events looking at the stars and planets. It includes a trip to Mars, a tour of the planets and those magnificent moons.
Hotham Park Heritage Trust celebrates its tenth birthday this year and the booklet contains details of the celebrations being held at the park in Bognor Regis.
There is also a wacky wildlife day when adults and children can find out about all the animals that live in the park and a number of activities planned for the summer holidays in August.
The booklet can be obtained from local council help points, libraries and from the three organisations.
For further information on the events contact the South Downs Planetarium and Science Centre on 01243 774400, the Hotham Park Heritage Trust on 01243 861166, or the Friends of Pagham Harbour on 01243 641508.
The full article contains 341 words and appears in OS-Chichester Observer newspaper.
