Over the past four years, the SeaScapes Project has made remarkable strides in connecting communities with the rich natural and historical heritage of the Tyne to Tees North East coastline.
The project’s diverse engagements have spanned digital innovation, hands-on conservation efforts and meaningful partnerships, leading to a significant positive impact on both people and the environment, including:
· Over 11,000 volunteers have helped with activities
· Over 6,000 bags of rubbish removed by over 6,000 volunteer beach clean volunteers
- Over 7,000 Sunderland Co-lab participants living within coastal communities who engaged with over 120 creative workshops and worked with 27 artists
· 12 different local dive clubs with 38 volunteer divers attending training workshops and volunteering over 690 dive hours
· Over 450 pupils from 8 schools engaged in trips and activities
· Over 3,500 downloads of the free SeaScapes Coastal App
· Over 79,000 individuals have visited the SeaScapes website for information and resources
Among the standout achievements is the successful development of the free SeaScapes Coastal App, which has seen over 3,500 downloads since its launch in March 2024. The app allows users to explore the Tyne to Tees coastline and learn about key coastal sites through engaging, location-based content.
SeaScapes has opened opportunities for volunteers, school groups and businesses to actively participate in preserving the coastline’s beauty and biodiversity. Hundreds of events from beach cleanups to coastal walks have made the region’s coastal heritage accessible to a broader audience. A key highlight has been the ‘Beneath the Waves’ project, in collaboration with Newcastle University, which explored underwater wrecks and contributed to citizen science.
Furthermore, the SeaScapes team has introduced educational resources such as games and virtual tours, including ‘Reading the Rocks website’ – self-guided walks with 3D tours of three iconic beaches on the Durham coast.
Jenny Swainston, SeaScapes Delivery Manager, expressed her pride in the team’s accomplishments: “The dedication and passion of our partners, volunteers and the wider community have made this year a tremendous success.
“Our work has improved access to the natural beauty of our coastline and also deepened people’s connection to it, helping to ensure its preservation for future generations.”
Closing events:
As the project draws to a close, SeaScapes invites the public to celebrate these achievements at an end of project celebration on Saturday 5th October, from 10 am to 3 pm, at the Whitburn Coastal Conservation Centre at National Trust Souter Lighthouse. This event will offer a unique opportunity to meet the SeaScapes team and the partners who have collaborated to make these initiatives such a success.
Attendees will learn more about the project’s legacy and how they can continue to make a positive impact on the natural world, as well as an exclusive update on new projects such as Google Earth-based FoodScapes Food Atlas which launches later this month, and World War I and II site mapping, which will also launch later this Autumn.
Join us for a final walk:
Reading the Rocks: The Final Walk
The coast at Whitburn harbours the story of the last ice age. It was here 20,000 years ago that ice from northern Britain flowed out into the North Sea sculpting the landscape and leaving behind sediments and erratics that mark this remarkable period of recent earth history. This part of the coast also shows evidence for the formation of glacial lakes, formed by the damming of drainage between the ice and high ground to the west. These large lakes, such as Glacial Lake Wear, drowned huge swathes of the Durham landscape.
Join Prof Dave Roberts on October 5th at Whitburn Bents car park (near SR6 8AD) at 11.00am for our last Reading the Rocks walk as part of the Seascapes project. The walk will last ~ 2.5 hrs and we will finish at Souter Lighthouse in the early afternoon. The beach can be rocky and the weather less than tropical, so please bring appropriate footwear and outdoor clothing.
