Sussex Bay
teamed up with Blue Earth Futures to launch Sussex Bay at The
Brighton
Dome, Corn Exchange, on Thursday 13th June 2024, from 12pm.
The sellout event included hearing from the people behind the Sussex Bay movement, about the pioneering projects going on right now in the
water, and from some familiar faces who found fame in and around that
water.
In the evening, after the launch, the Blue Earth
Futures event featured Sussex Bay in the broader context of the
national and global blue
economy. This will be held in the same venue,
with food and drinks available between events.
The beautiful Sussex seascape and its coastal waterways
shape the land and the way we live. It’s a source of wellness and joy,
recreation and enterprise for millions of people - and it makes this
region special. Sussex Bay is a movement initiated by Adur &
Worthing Councils on behalf of Sussex coastal local authorities, and
powered by civic organisations, local businesses and people. We have a
vision for 2050 where our seascape and
rivers flourish, so that nature, people and local economy can thrive.
The 'Bay' project is externally funded by Esmée
Fairbairn Foundation and Rewilding Britain. Sussex Bay collaborates with
charities, the 11 Councils across Sussex
Bay, NGOs and other types of
organisations who often partner
on external funding bids to help deliver conservation
projects.
(Not involving council taxes.)
The launch features expert speakers on seascape
strategy, investment in Blue Natural Capital and how humans can come
together to make a real difference to nature's recovery, this is a
pivotal moment in the future of our seascape as we launch the movement
and open our £1m Crowdfunder campaign.
The vision for Sussex Bay is widely understood and
supported, and work has continued at strategic and project levels during
2022 and 2023 with funding from Defra, Coast to Capital, MMO
Fisheries & Seafood Scheme and others.
THE CORN EXCHANGE, BRIGHTON DOME -
Leo Perrin is the Youth Project Lead at the Cleaner Ocean
Foundation - a not for profit R&D organisation. This is an
amateur video of a short presentation given on the 13th of June 2024 about the
'green
hydrogen' powered Elizabeth Swann - a zero carbon
trimaran around 44 meters in length. Bristling with state of the art
tech. This talk (only his second) was given at the launch of the 'Sussex
Bay' re-wilding project, a brilliant initiative to conserve around 100
miles of Sussex coastline, supported by many authorities and like minded
concerns. Please visit their website to learn more of this important
work.
This generational challenge to restore our rivers, coast
and sea requires the project to work at nature’s scale. Sussex Bay will
work with all bodies, through highly open and collaborative
communication, and effective formal partnership. We are currently
working with the Crown Estate, Sussex local authorities, the Living
Coast Biosphere, Greater Brighton Economic Board, Coast to Capital,
Shoreham Port, Sussex Marine & Coastal Forum, Sussex Wildlife Trust
and others to invite collaboration and alignment of goals.
Adur & Worthing Councils commitment to carbon
reduction (it declared a climate emergency in 2019), and subsequent Net
Zero strategies acted as spur to consider the role of local nature
recovery projects in the Councils overall climate response.
The opportunity for the Councils to play a broad role in
enabling recovery at nature’s scale (not constrained to municipal
boundaries) was clear to the joint administration, and Adur District
Council made two key early land acquisitions (£1.2m) on the Adur River
to show strong intent in the emerging field of ‘natural capital
investment’ for nature recovery.
The Councils were deeply inspired by two local projects
with national and international reputations. The Knepp Estate which has
rewilded 951 hectares of farmland and seen massive increases in wildlife
and biodiversity, and secondly the work of the
Sussex
Inshore Fisheries Association to introduce a 300 km2 trawler exclusion
zone off West Sussex to restore the decimated historic kelp
forest.
SPEAKERS
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Benita Matofska -
Sustainability changemaker
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Paul Brewer - Adur & Worthing Councils Director
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Dean Spears- Head of Blue Natural Capital
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Joanne Preston - Professor of Marine Biology
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Lewis Crathern - World champion kitesurfer
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Alinah Azadeh - Writer Sussex Heritage Coast
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Leo
Perrin - EU Clean Water Mission -hydrogen ship
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Caroline
Price - Crown Estates
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Pooran Desai OnePlanet Founder
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Ruth
Anslow - Adviser to Sussex Bay
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Sam Zindel - MD Propellernet digital
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Mandy
Wolfe - Lyme Bay Fisherman's CIC
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Dave
Erasmus - Speaker & Social Entrepreneur
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Sam
Fanshawe - Blue Marine Foundation UK
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Tom
Willis - Shoreham EcoPort manager
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Henri Brocklebank - Sussex Wildlife Trust |
Kevin
Richmond - Sussex Community Foundation |
Eric Smith & Catrine Priestley -
SX Underwater |
WHAT IS MARINE REWILDING?
Rewilding Britain note the urgent need to reverse the catastrophic decline in marine
biodiversity.
Sea-based rewilding projects are far less common than those on land.
The Blue Marine Foundation defines rewilding the sea as ‘any effort to
improve the health of the ocean by actively restoring habitats and
species, or by leaving it alone to recover’.
Man is the destroyer with ghost
fishing nets, overfishing
and bycatch.
Then, there is marine plastic, glass fibers and chemical
carcinogens.
COULD SUSSEX BAY BECOME A MARINE PARK?
We are watching the brilliant work at Plymouth, Jersey
and elsewhere closely. Plymouth received funding of £9.5m to develop
their Marine Park concept. What matters most at this stage is the
development of partnership and public awareness raising, but it remains
something of interest for the future.
Brighton Dome Corn Exchange & Studio Theatre
New Road
Brighton
BN1 1UG
For media enquiries, please contact Dean Spears: dean.spears@sussexbay.org.uk
OCEAN
CLEANUP PROJECTS A - Z
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Adidas
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Algalita
research foundation *
Aliance
to end Plastic Waste AEPW
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Baltimore
Mr Trash river cleaning barge
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BAN - Basel
Convention Action Network
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Boyan
Slat's ocean booms
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CLAIM
H2020 EU marine plastic project
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Earth Day - Fact
sheet ocean plastic
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Fionn
Ferreira's ferrofluid extraction of microplastics
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FlashLight
Press Michelle Lord & Julia Blatt
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Greenpeace
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GRIPS - Global
Research & Innovation in Plastics Sustainability
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5 Gyres Institute
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Interceptor
tethered river cleaning barges
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Junk
Raft - plastic awareness voyage
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Kids
Against Plastic Tat KAPTAT
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Kulo
Luna graphic novel
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Miss
Ocean - Plastic Awareness Events
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4Ocean recycled plastic bracelets
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Nike
- Sneakers from recycled materials, ocean spills
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Ocean
Voyages Institute
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Ocean Waste Plastic
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Parley
AIR
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Plastic Free
Eastbourne
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Plastic
Oceans Canada
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Plastic
Oceans Chile
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Plastic
Oceans Mexico *
Plastic Oceans Org
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Plastic Oceans UK
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Recycling Technologies *
Rozalia Project
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Seabin
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Sea Litter
Critters
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SeaVax autonomous drones
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Surfers
Against Sewage
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Surrey University PIRATE
& Triton
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Sussex
Bay - Coastline marine rewilding project
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World Oceans Day
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WRAP - Waste
& Resources Action Programme
[Left]
Ruth Anslow is one of the organisers, a speaker and adviser to
the Sussex Bay project. [Right] Alinah Azadeh gave a
presentation on the Sussex walk that is one of our favorites,
more on the power of the seascape. If anyone treads this path,
we feel sure they will appreciate how calming the ocean is,
along the English Channel.
[Left]
This was the PPT from Lewis Crathern, a champion kite surfer.
Giving the audience a taste of flying on a surf board, using the
power of the wind to make giant leaps into the air. [Right] Sam
Zindel hosted the last of the afternoon sessions, making the
audience shout loud to test the sound quality.
[Left]
Dave Erasmus played some interesting sounds to the audience.
Who, had to try to guess what was making the noises recorded
underwater. [Right] A panel of experts answered questions from
Sam Zindel, including: Caroline Price, San Fanshawe, Henri
Brocklebank, Tom Willis and Kevin Richmond. All of the panelist
explained their part is Sussex Bay and various projects from
their perspective.
SUSSEX ONLINE NEWS 2 APRIL 2024 - £100K FUNDING FOR SUSSEX MARINE REWILDING PROJECT
A biodiversity boost from Selsey Bill to Camber Sands.
An ambitious collaborative project working to enable nature to take the lead across 100 miles of
Sussex coastline is to be awarded £100k of funding from charity Rewilding Britain.
Sussex Bay, the organisation behind the project, has a
vision for a healthy marine ecosystem for the Sussex Bay area, an
extensive seascape that encompasses 100 miles of coastline from Selsey
Bill to Camber Sands and is home to over 1 million residents.
Formed over the past two years from radical
collaboration with over 200 groups, organisations, and partners –
including local authorities, charities and diverse communities of
residents and businesses – the project aims to create and deliver a
pioneering seascape-scale strategy for the entire coastline.
Funding from Rewilding Britain, awarded as part of its
annual Rewilding Challenge Fund, will enable Sussex Bay to accelerate
its ambitions into 2025, increasing nature-led recovery of marine
habitats already underway and creating opportunities for community
engagement, employment, education and
circular economy projects.
Jacques Villemot, Marine Rewilding Coordinator for
Rewilding Britain, said: “The amazing habitats found in our oceans and
coastlines – like kelp, oyster beds and saltmarsh – offer a myriad of
benefits for wildlife, nature and people. They act as natural carbon
stores, support diverse ecosystems of wildlife, improve
water
quality, act as a buffer to help protect coastlines from storm surges
and provide invaluable resources and livelihoods to local communities.
“But, sadly, the majority of these habitats are heavily
degraded or lost – 96% of the once extensive kelp beds in West Sussex
have been lost since the 1980s. The
Sussex Bay
rewilding project is delivering on an urgent need to develop a seascape
approach to help drive nature recovery at scale, considering a
multitude of species and habitats whilst also creating and progressing
opportunities for community engagement, enrichment of local economies
and education. Rewilding Britain is delighted to be able to support this
work and enable Sussex Bay’s rewilding ambitions to reach new heights.”
Funding awarded by Rewilding Britain will support Sussex
Bay in its seascape strategy by enabling the appointment of a Science
Lead to their Blue Natural Capital Lab project, along with contributing
towards several pilot projects. The Science Lead will collaborate with
the 200 groups operating projects along Sussex Bay to create a cohesive
seascape framework.
The funding will also help develop several community
enrichment initiatives including a work-experience tool-kit for those
interested in working in the marine, rewilding and land management
sectors, and a multi-discipline marine nature recovery programme for
young people developed with partners including Weald to Waves and the
Sussex Dolphin Project. Sussex Bay is also working with the Sussex
Dolphin Project to enable students to complete training with Sussex Bay
cetaceans (whales,
dolphins and porpoises).
Paul Brewer, Founder and Director of Sussex Bay, said:
“We are absolutely delighted to reach this milestone, which was only
possible with the support and encouragement from so many people across
the region and further afield. There is so much incredible passion,
commitment and practical effort across Sussex Bay, and we aim to help
grow that further. Our seascapes deserve radical collaboration and
action at a large scale, ensuring no one is left behind. Thank you
Rewilding Britain for your support.”
Sussex Bay will be officially launching at an event in
Brighton in June. Later that same evening, Sussex Bay will be partnering
with Blue Earth Summit on their Futures series, shining a spotlight on
the future of coastlines. Additionally, Sussex Bay will join a panel
discussion at TedxBrighton, on 5 April 2024. More details about these
events will be shared by Sussex Bay and partners in the next few weeks.
Sussex Bay is the second ever recipient of Rewilding
Britain’s Rewilding Challenge Fund, launched in 2022. The first
recipient, Kent Wildlife Trust, was awarded £100k in 2023 to scale up
the Trust’s rewilding efforts within and beyond West Blean and Thornden
Woods, the largest ancient woodland in southern England and home to the
UK’s first reintroduced European bison.
https://sussexonlinenews.co.uk/2024/04/02/186882/
https://sussexonlinenews.co.uk/2024/04/02/186882/
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