Heart of Reeds - the 1.6 hectare reed bed on Lewes Railway Land Nature Reserve - was officially opened on Saturday June 25 2005 by Lewes MP Norman Baker.
The opening ceremony was the culmination of a seven year dream for international artist Chris Drury, who lives in Lewes and has designed the reed bed - his first project in his home town. Drury took as his inspiration the double vortex of tissue at the apex of the human heart - known in medical terms as the Cardiac Twist.
This, as he explains, mirrors the way the blood flows in the heart and is a pattern which is replicated universally - through the planet and in our bodies.
Drury's research into this "universal flow" has taken him from the glaciers of Iceland, to redwood trees in California and into an operating theatre to watch open heart surgery.
And that seven year journey culminated on June 25 in a spectacular opening event, with banners carried by local young people and made in workshops led by Radiator Arts. Heading the procession was Priory School Samba Band, which wound its way to the top of the viewing mound overlooking the site, whilst the procession of banners followed the route of the reed bed below.
Other young people from Rodmell Primary School and Lewes Priory School presented a programme of sound and dance organised by Carolyn Savidge and Jacqui Fry, with members of the Sonic Postcards youth project and Starfish.
Heart of Reeds has involved the whole community, from schools and colleges, three local authorities and the Arts Council, the Railway Land Wildlife Trust, Gambles Construction Company, Viridor Credits Environmental Company, Harveys Brewery, Southern Water and the people of Lewes.
The environment is at the centre of this project. Although man made, Heart of Reeds draws on the natural resources around it, fed largely by spring water which can be flushed out through the reeds and into the water meadows beyond.
The construction by Gambles has been overseen by East Sussex County Council. As their landscape manager James Newmarch explained: "Great attention has been paid to detail." Only recycled materials have been used for the hard landscaping - in the form of maintenance free recycled domestic plastic. This has been used for the board walk, the pond dipping platform, the boards on the bridge, handrails and signs. This means there is no danger from chemical seepage into the water, which would have harmed the wildlife and plants.
The importance of the reed bed within the environment was stressed by all the main speakers on Saturday, including Chris Drury, Norman Baker, Ian White (chairman of Viridor Credits), John Parry (chairman of Lewes Railway Land Wildlife Trust, which has worked closely with Chris Drury throughout) and by chairman of Lewes District Council, Cllr Julie Carr.
It is an important educational resource, with a year long programme co-ordinated by River Ocean, which will culminate in a festival of water in 2006. It is also linked culturally to a project in Dieppe - 80 French visitors were at Saturday's ceremony.
This is the largest arts and environment project in Sussex and as Drury said: "What we have made here is really just the beginning, for this sculpture will have a life of its own as it grows and develops. It is large, so that it will attract small things to it."

Heart of Reeds is sponsored by Viridor Waste Management, the Arts Council of England, Harveys of Lewes and Southern Water. It is led by Lewes District Council in partnership with Lewes Railway Land Wildlife Trust and East Sussex County Council.