Here & Now Issue 34 | July 2019

MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Listen without prejudice
“Giving someone five minutes to
talk can be crucial,” says Mark, a
volunteer with Worthing Samaritans
for the past two years.
IN TODAY’S FAST-PACED WORLD, time is
a scarce resource, a truth the volunteers at
this local Samaritans branch know all too well;
their annual volume of calls has increased
from just 175 in 1969 when they started to a
phenomenal 25,000 fifty years later, plus 1,500
emails and 2,000 texts.
The non-religious organisation, which is an independent
branch of the national charity, seeks to provide round the
clock emotional support to anyone in despair or feeling
suicidal, and their 24-hour hotline is operated entirely by
unpaid, trained volunteers. Now they’re the ones in need,
looking for local people to lend a hand (and an ear).
To mark 50 years of listening, they’re appealing for 50 local
businesses to donate £50 so they can continue for another
50 years. They would also love to hear from anyone
considering volunteering – “one of the most rewarding
things I’ve ever done” says volunteer Blanche – and run
regular informal drop-ins for those interested (next session
Tuesday 9 July at 7pm at the office on Lennox Road). n
Tue 2 – Tue 23 Jul
Grow Heal Thrive 2.30-5.30pm. Run
by Breathing Spaces. Four therapeutic
gardening sessions for women in
recovery from trauma. Call Claire on
07508 178590 for info and to book.
Sessions for mums and children Tue 6
– Tue 27 Aug from 2.30-5.00pm.
Sat 6 Jul
Worthing Plogging 2pm. Manor
Sports Ground. With Worthing Green
Party. Get fitter while picking up litter
and run/walk for an hour. All ages and
abilities.
Tue 9 Jul
Worthing Samaritans Volunteer
Information Sessions 7-8.30pm.
Worthing Samaritans, 2-4 Lennox
Road. Learn more about volunteering.
Sat 20 Jul
Worthing Community Chest Pop-Up
Recycling Broadwater Carnival.
Sat 27 Jul
TTW Repair Cafe 10am-1pm. Friends/
Quaker Meeting House. Fixing things
which might otherwise end up in
landfill.
Sat 27 – Sun 28 Jul
Worthing Community Chest Pop-Up
Recycling Lions Festival.
Sun 28 Jul
Making Wax Wraps 2.30-4pm. Little
Craftery. Make three reuseable wraps.
£24
ONGOING
Community Energy Local E/Wed.
10am-3.30pm. St Paul’s. Free drop-in
energy advice supported by Transition
Town Worthing.
TTW Greenspaces Community
Gardening E/Tue. 3.30-5pm. Triangle
Community Garden, Tarring. Info FB @
TTWGreenspaces
Summer Delights E/Wed. 10am-12.30pm.
Cortis Avenue, BN14. Community garden
open to visitors and volunteers. Info
cortisavewildlife@gmail.com.
Northbrook Green Gym E/Wed.10am-
1pm. The Pond, Whitebeam Woods.
Gardening in Durrington. Info graeme.
brooker@tcv.org.uk or 07970 860938.
May Close Allotment E/Fri. 2-4pm. May
Close, Worthing. Community gardening.
Malthouse Meadows 1st Sun/month.
11am-1pm. Malthouse Meadows,
Sompting. Help clear out and plant. Info
07813 484857 or sustainablesussex@
gmail.com
TTW Greenspaces Community
Gardening Various times. The Haven,
Homefield Park. Info ttwhaven@
gmail.com.
So you’ve never been...
BUTTERFLY HUNTING!
LAUNCHED IN 2010 by Butterfly Conservation, The Big Butterfly Count takes place every year from
19 July-11 August, and has rapidly become the world’s biggest survey of butterflies and day-flying moths.
PHOTO: NEIL HULME
Why go? Counting butterflies is like taking the pulse of nature, with declines in the population an
early warning for other wildlife losses.
Why now? At this time of year most butterflies are at the adult stage of their lifecycle, so more
likely to be seen.
Where can I do it? Anywhere outdoors as long as it’s bright and sunny! Choose a spot and
look out for butterflies and moths for 15 minutes, and submit your findings at bigbutterflycount.org.
If you can’t tell your purple emperor from your painted lady, make a beeline for Cortis Avenue Wildlife
Garden’s Big Butterfly Open Day on 13 July.
How do I find out more? Put your newfound skills to good use at EPIC Sompting’s
Bioblitzs, where you count and identify local wildlife. Up the road, Cissbury Ring is one of the best
butterfly sites in Sussex. If you’re really lucky, you might spot the rare Duke of Burgundy butterfly,
whose survival is credited to local Worthing man and chair of the Sussex branch of Butterfly
Conservation Neil Hulme. Neil received a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his longstanding series to
wildlife conservation in 2017, and has recently been involved in a elm tree planting scheme at Lancing
College to help the endangered White-Letter Hairstreak establish a new habitat. n
HEREANDNOWMAG.CO.UK HERE & NOW | July 2019 | 13