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SeaScapes project gets underway
The National Lottery Heritage Fund has shown its commitment to coastal and marine heritage in the North of England by awarding £2.78m to the Tyne to Tees, Shores and Seas Partnership scheme (SeaScapes). Hosted by Durham County Council, SeaScapes is now underway across the coastlines and inshore waters of South Tyneside, Sunderland, Durham, and Hartlepool over the next three years.
The Past Intertidal Interactive
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Dorinda Kealoha
Intertidal Interactive Officer
The heritage of the Tyne to Tees SeaScapes area is nationally significant and deserves to be better explored and celebrated. Characterised by magnesian limestone geology 250 million years in the making, the heritage of this dynamic coastline – its coal, ships and communities - once fuelled the British Empire in war and at peace, but subsequent industrial decline has produced a legacy of pollution and deprivation. Until the late 1990s, parts of the SeaScapes coastline were the most heavily polluted in Europe, as a result of the dumping of millions of tonnes of colliery spoil. While those past industrial associations have now waned to memory thanks to extensive remediation efforts, poor perceptions continue. The perception of an industrial landscape still persists for some, but the natural, cultural, and maritime heritage of the area now have a chance to come to the fore. These once-murky waters, filled with coal fragments and dust from the mining waste, are now showing off their riches to divers. Whereas 20 years ago the sea was black, with zero visibility and little marine life, the seas and coast are now teeming with wildlife. Durham Wildlife Trust is the lead for the Intertidal Interactive project, with Dorinda Kealoha filling the role of Intertidal Interactive Officer. Intertidal Interactive aims to provide opportunities for local people to engage with marine and coastal wildlife through events, activities, wildlife recording groups, and citizen science. Local communities will learn more about the wildlife around them, and how these species co-exist with people and the built environment along the coast. Beach Tots can discover the small world of the rockpool, and local school groups participate in North Sea Science workshops and snorkeling experiences. Teenagers will be exploring the coast as Beach Rangers, and there’s training available to survey for marine mammals, shore birds, and intertidal species. Opportunities will be created for local people and visitors to not only explore, learn, discover and record the natural heritage of the coast, but also to receive training which will develop confidence, enhance understanding, and improve conservation for our marine and coastal wildlife.
Our Vision for the Future
‘To reveal and better manage the hidden heritage of our unique seascape and create opportunities for learning, access and enjoyment in order to ignite stewardship of this special place for generations to come’. To achieve this vision, the SeaScapes scheme will deliver 23 projects – both on-shore and beneath the sea.
Find out how you can be part of SeaScapes by emailing us at info@exploreseascapes.co.uk and visiting the website www.exploreseascapes.co.uk.
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