This is a community group, which aims to help the local community appreciate and enjoy, in an environmentally responsible way, the Pestalozzi Estate on the outskirts of Sedlescombe in East Sussex. The Friends work with the Pestalozzi International Village to help develop the Estate as a local amenity of considerable beauty and wildlife interest and to hold a range of events to enable the local people to benefit from the Estate.
The site was once owned by the Brabazon family. The celebrated 19th century painter Hercules Brabazon commissioned Decimus Burton, designer of Hyde Park, to lay out much of the parkland and some of the original features remain.
The Pestalozzi Estate, of about 75 hectares, has examples of nearly all the wildlife habitats of the High Weald area in which it lies. There are flower-filled meadows, ancient woodlands, steep-sided ghylls and a variety of ponds and streams, some of which are seasonal. The parkland contains some magnificent trees, many of them protected by preservation orders, and there are some scarce species, such as the large-leaved lime. The river Brede marks the northern boundary of the Estate.
The fields on the floodplain have been in Countryside Stewardship since 2001. Birds on the Estate include lapwing, snipe, green woodpecker and barn owl; the range should increase substantially as the water meadows mature. Wild animals on the Estate include fallow deer, foxes and badgers, several bats species and, the greatest treasure of all, a thriving population of dormice, now a protected species. The great crested newt has been found here, as well as our common reptiles and amphibians.
The Friends of the Pestalozzi Estate's activities include:
- a guided themed walk (for £1) on the first Sunday of each month, leaving the Pestalozzi International Village Reception at 2pm GMT (ie 3pm in the Summer).
- tea and cake (for £1) in the Village canteen after a two hour monthly walk.
- outdoor events, such as moth-trapping.
- slide talks on environmental topics.
- working days on the estate, learning conversation skills.
Events are free to Friends of the Estate, who also receive their own regular Newsletter. Please join them.
You can see further details of future events in our Events Diary.
