Empowering the public to champion our cherished Yorkshire coast.

Stretching 95 miles, the Yorkshire coast is a jewel in our region's crown with its iconic clifftops, wild expanse of golden sands, charming coastal villages, renowned destinations like Whitby and Scarborough, and coastal industry, history, and culture that captivate local communities and visitors alike.

The Yorkshire coast is also a haven for a diverse array of marine wildlife and habitats, including home to the UK’s largest mainland breeding seabird colony and vast kelp beds that play a crucial role in carbon storage.

This places our region’s marine and coastal environment at the frontline of substantial challenges posed by climate change, but also at the forefront of the ambitious and proactive response to it.

As climate change threatens our shores, the need to protect and restore our natural and coastal heritage has never been more urgent. A pioneering project is underway to champion our unique regional marine and coastal environment and raise awareness of the connected benefits these environments provide to the health and resilience of nature, people, and communities equally.

The Yorkshire Marine Nature Partnership, with support from the North York Moors Trust and East Riding of Yorkshire Council, North Yorkshire Council and other partners, is developing a long-term marine nature recovery strategy for the Yorkshire coast and ensuring it is represented in both the North Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire Local Nature Recovery Strategy (LNRS) processes.

The LNRS strategies are part of a new England-wide system to establish priorities and specific actions aimed at driving forward nature recovery and providing wider environmental benefits.

To support this work, the Yorkshire Marine Nature Partnership and the North York Moors Trust have launched a series of animations about our wonderful, diverse, unique and important coastal environments. 

Across April (2024) the project released innovative engagement videos titled “The Secret of the Shoal”, “The Beauty of Blue Carbon”, “Super Sediments”, and “Coastal Climate Change”, these videos shed light on the connected benefits of our marine environment provides to health, resilience, communities, and the economy.

Heather Davison-Smith, Development Officer at the Yorkshire Marine Nature Partnership, who has spearheaded this initiative, said:

“This series of short animations takes us on a journey of discovery to a hidden world beneath the waves and highlights all of the benefits we get from the sea.  Each animation has been developed to inspire, enthuse and encourage people to ‘find out more’ – there is so much to learn about our wonderful coastal and marine environment, and the more we know, the more we can support and enhance our natural heritage.”

Through the initiative, funded by the Environment Agency’s Championing Coastal Coordination Fund, the Yorkshire Marine Nature Partnership has also worked closely with a cross-section of regional stakeholders, to identify priority species and habitats, and develop ideas for nature recovery opportunities across Yorkshire’s coastal and marine environments.   

One of the challenges of identifying new ways to support our marine environment is the lack of accurate information about species movements, the scale and location of habitats, and how both in-land and offshore pressures can impact the coastal zone. 

To tackle this, the Yorkshire Marine Nature Partnership has begun development of a new coastal and marine data inventory. The data inventory will build a deeper understanding of coastal and marine issues – what is happening both above and beneath the waves – and highlight evidence gaps that will inform the strategy’s actions and aspirations, moving forward.

Importantly, the project has prioritised engagement with the public. All organisations involved believe it is vital to ensure that the public are not just informed but empowered to act as champions for the Yorkshire coast.

A public survey released in December 2023, garnered hundreds of responses. Following the recent spotlight shone on our water quality, the health of our beaches, and the polluting of our rivers and seas, as well as our national affection for the coast, the project wanted to provide an opportunity for these thoughts and feelings to be respectfully incorporated into the development of the regional strategy. Coupled with the help of the animation series, the project has made significant strides towards its goals to inform, educate and empower the public.

James Metcalfe, Director of the North York Moors Trust, said:

“At a time of growing awareness of the pressures facing our marine and coastal environments, including impacts on the health and resilience of nature, people, and communities, and a strong appetite for action, the animations we have released provide a timely resource to inform and empower the public to champion our cherished coast.

The North York Moors Trust is proud to support efforts to develop an essential nature recovery plan for our iconic Yorkshire coast.”

Ends.

Coverage :

• Research above and below the waves - Yorkshire Post - 27/04/2024

Notes:

Recovering our Seascape Ecosystem (RoSE) Project

The RoSE project is led by the Yorkshire Marine Nature Partnership, with support from the North York Moors Trust, and funded by the Environment Agency’s Championing Coastal Coordination (3Cs) fund.

The project aims to:

• Provide advice and guidance on coastal and marine ecosystems to the regional LNRS development process through active engagement with stakeholders, local experts and the general public;

• Identify data challenges and evidence gaps, to inform both the LNRS process and future YMNP projects;

• Build awareness and knowledge of the importance of Yorkshire’s coastal and marine ecosystems via a series of non-technical animations.