The Sussex Gardens Trust https://www.sussexgardenstrust.org.uk/ is a great organisation dedicated to the protection, conservation and research of the designed gardens and landscape of the county. It is one of many county garden trusts under the umbrella organisation of The Gardens Trust http://thegardenstrust.org/, which collates ongoing historical research and promotes its education and value.
I have been a member since 2016, over which time I have helped with their membership and been involved with the organisation of a lectures, events and visits.
Visits are often to gardens not normally open to the public, whilst lectures are given by a range of garden historians, designers, and other experts linked to garden and landscape design.
In addition, members can learn how to research the history of a garden or park, the research then being added to the Parks and Gardens website, a repository for research, https://www.parksandgardens.org/ or that of Historic England https://historicengland.org.uk/. If a garden or landscape is on the Historic England list, then a planning authority will have its attention drawn to its value by The Gardens Trust itself or by the relevant County Garden Trust’s Conservation team.
With any money raised through events and lectures, Sussex Gardens Trust is able to financially support the designed landscapes of the county, and this can be particularly useful for the underfunded public squares and landscapes.
