In September 2024, Lewes Town Council formally approved a proposal from Lewes Swift Supporters to designate Lewes as a Swift-friendly town.

The aims of this initiative are: 

• To spread the word about Swifts so that more people learn about these marvellous, red-listed birds.
•  To encourage people to become “biodiversity champions” and take an action, however small, which will help to increase biodiversity across Lewes.

Swifts can be seen as an indicator of good biodiversity – where there is a rich mosaic of biodiverse habitats, there will be Swifts too! The population of Swifts has declined by 58% since 1995. They live in the air and depend on airborne insects and invertebrates for food, but Buglife research estimates that numbers of insects have fallen by 78% since 2004. 

Friends of Lewes have joined with other community groups to lend their support to this project. They have already given direct support through funding the purchase and installation of Swift boxes to expand existing colonies in De Montfort Road. One of these boxes was visited by Swifts in 2024. They also help by monitoring planning applications to safeguard existing nest sites. The trees and hedges planted by the Trees Committee provide food and habitat for a wide range of insects and invertebrates – in the evenings you may often see Swifts circling above trees to hunt for food. 

Find out more about how you may help Swifts:   https://e-voice.org.uk/lewesswiftsupporters/lewes-a-swift-friendly-town/