Wildlife Trust - The Bay

Depression being lifted by The Bay

A year of wellbeing in Morecambe Bay – Kirsty Tyler looks back on the first year of The Bay: A blueprint for recovery.

Photo: Angie in front of the refurbished bug hotel at Happy Mount Park by Kirsty Tyler The last few years have brought with them unexpected challenges. No-one could have expected when the global pandemic hit in 2020 that Covid-19 would still be so present all the way through to the final few months of 2022.

And what a vast change it would have made in our lives.

For many people, loneliness and isolation became hugely present, particularly in our coastal communities, which already experienced high levels of deprivation.

Over the past year there has been hope in some of these communities, with The Bay: A Blueprint for Recovery taking on the task of helping people around Morecambe Bay to connect with others and, with it, help with nature’s recovery.

Photo: Bee Hotels at Fleetwood Marine Hall by Kirsty Tyler

Photo: Morecambe seafront has healing properties by Alan Wright Photo: Jubilee Bee Hotels at Fleetwood Marine Hall by Kirsty Tyler

Photo: Eggcellent result looking for mermaid’s purses by Kirsty Tyler

The two-year project is based in Wyre, Morecambe and Barrow, three hub areas which were identified as needing a helping hand. The locations used by the team are truly outstanding, with Rossall Point, in Wyre, Half Moon Bay, in Morecambe and Walney Island, in Barrow, having some spectacular views around the whole bay, as well as an interesting and diverse range of wildlife. It’s been a wild first year for the project, which was the result of £880,000 awarded to the partner organisations who are running it from players of People’s Postcode Lottery through their Recovery Fund. Managed between The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside, The Eden Project (who will be a major presence in Morecambe soon!), Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust, The Bay has a range of expertise to draw from.

The delivery team were in place in September 2021, undertaking a gruelling first couple of weeks of training, with a combination of both mental health and nature based training sessions. After that they were off!

Community Engagement events kicked off first, with a wide range of activities to immerse the local populations in nature and introduce them to the nature on their doorsteps. Birdwatching, surveys on the beach, rockpooling – every week is different.

Looking back over the past year, there have been some really excellent highlights. The Jubilee weekend had the team out for two huge events; in Fleetwood they were at the Marine Hall making 70 bee hotels for 70 years of the Queen’s reign, and, the following day, joined thousands of other people on Morecambe

The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside is dedicated to the protection and promotion of the wildlife in Lancashire, seven boroughs of Greater Manchester and four of Merseyside, all lying north of the River Mersey. It manages around 40 nature reserves and 20 Local Nature Reserves covering acres of woodland, wetland, upland and meadow. The Trust has 30,000 members, and over 1,200 volunteers. To become a member of the Trust go to the website at www.lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129

Photo: Lug worm release at Half Moon Bay Heysham

promenade with the Eden Project, breaking the world record for the biggest street party.

It’s not the only record broken this year though, the team also climbed to the top spot for shark and skate eggcase (known as mermaid’s purses to many) recordings for the first six months of 2022 with The Shark Trust.

The Nature and Wellbeing sessions are the true success story of this project. Small groups with the people who need the help the most, run every week. One of the participants, Angie, lives in Morecambe and has been regularly attending sessions there. She said: “The sessions have enabled me to re-establish connection to a place that I have not visited since my children were young. I feel that attending each week has reconnected me a place and to people which is what I was really needing several months ago. “I feel that I have grown in confidence and have re-established links to my home environment.”

Angie’s confidence has grown so much that she’s now graduated from the sessions, and is back as a volunteer helping others to make the same positive associations with their local environment. With nearly 200 people already referred to these sessions, the project is having a major impact for the communities around the Bay.

These sessions involve all sorts of activities, from horticulture to citizen science to bushcraft, getting

Photo: Sea Watch at Rossall Point by Emily Parr

Photo: The Bay team pic by Kirsty Tyler

Photo: The Bay big jubilee lunch by Kirsty Tyler

people active, taking notice of the world around them, and of course connecting with others in a safe and welcoming environment.

The next year of the project looks to be exciting as the team build on the successes of year one. Creating new and exciting events for the communities around the Bay and also developing some online resources for those further afield while keeping at its heart the powerful offering of nature and wellbeing. If you’d like to know more and see what events are coming up or fill out a referral form, then please do check out their website at: www.thebay.org.uk

If you have any questions, get in touch with us at: youthcouncil@lancswt.org.uk

The Wildlife Trusts

The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside is dedicated to the protection and promotion of the wildlife in Lancashire, seven boroughs of Greater Manchester and four of Merseyside, all lying north of the River Mersey. It manages around 40 nature reserves and 20 Local Nature Reserves covering acres of woodland, wetland, upland and meadow. The Trust has 30,000 members, and over 1,200 volunteers. To become a member of the Trust go to the website at www.lancswt.org.uk or call 01772 324129

BIG SALE NOW ON! BIG SALE NOW ON! BIG SALE NOW ON!

BIG SALE NOW ON!