The SeaScapes project used a variety of different engagement techniques. These included:
Pings when close to a point along the King Charles III England Coast Path (KGIIIECP), from the Tyne to Tees.
A free mobile phone app called the SeaScapes Coastal App will enable you to learn more about the Tyne to Tees coast. Once the app is loaded on your mobile phone, the app will ping the phone at key locations along the coast. At each location, the initial screen will tell you about the place and its point of interest, from which you can do a deeper dive into the information. Locations of wrecks off the coast will also enable you to find out more about the hidden heritage beneath the waves.
Our coast is a unique and extraordinary place, full of geological wonders, both natural and man-made. It is also an internationally important coastline because of its Permian Magnesian Limestone and, as it recovers from decades of coal waste tipping, it is coming back to life in spectacular fashion. This website includes virtual visits to three sites between the Tyne and the Tees: Seaham, Blast Beach and Blackhall. Through 3D tours, videos, diagrams, and online resources, you can take a walk on the coast and delve deep into the geological secrets of beach.
These included:
Wildflowers and coastal plants
Coastal birds
Bees and insects
Geology
Heritage
Cetacean surveys
Rocky shore monitoring
Butterflies and Moths habitat management
Reptiles
Beach Cleans
Beach Rangers for 14-18 year olds
Beach Tots for pre-school children
Tall Ship
Seaham Food Festival
Beach Clean Leaders
SeaWatch Observers
Field Names Survey Volunteers
Volunteer Ranger Assistant
Volunteer Divers
A key element of the SeaScapes project was the extent of the engagement with community groups, schools, the public and business groups.
One facet was the beach cleans which could have been a school group, a group of colleagues from a business wanting to use their volunteer hours, a community or group (possibly with special needs), or a session for the public.
A Seaham beach after a winter storm
The methodology of the beach clean did not really change but how the beach clean was conducted may be changed both due to the actual beach location, the weather or the nature and ability of the participants.
Work with all age groups from Tots up.
Lots of citizen science projects including monitoring Cetaceans, and species in rock pools.
The highly popular Little Terns project has been manned by wardens and volunteer and the town of Seaton Carew has taken the project into their hearts. The outcome – the successful fledging of 154 ringed Little Tern chicks in 2024. This included 24-hour monitoring to prevent predators.
The BlueScapes project worked on, in or near water and conducted a wide range of activities – see the BlueScapes page for more details of the types of activities and the groups and types of groups with which the project worked. These different types of physical activities show the potentials for how the many different types of engagement were conducted through the BlueScapes project.
Extending that vision to particular groups who may not have generally used the coast particularly in the BAME ethnic minorities was also key to the increasing the engagement with the coast. Two particular projects, BlueScapes and the Blue Futures creative projects actively worked with particular groups over long periods of time.
At major events such as the Tall Ships Race in Hartlepool in 2023.
Volunteer as well as the team manned the stands and talked to members of the public.
Or the highly innovative Science and Arts symposium in November 2023 – see Sunderland Co-lab page for more details. Where international, national and regional artists showed how they were interpreting the coast and marine environment to their audiences.
Working with volunteer divers the wrecks off the Tyne to Tees coast were starting to be documented. With over 600 wrecks off the SeaScapes coast there is still lots to do. The volunteer divers were taught how to video and use photogrammetry techniques to stitch the video taken into 3D models which could then be displayed or turned into a printed 3D model. The wrecks app was created as a tool for the divers to understand the process and how to identify items on the sea floor.
Interactions with schools and in particular primary schools to help the children learn about their coast. There were school visits to archaeological digs, museums (led by OASES – see Resources page) and more creative projects such as the refurbishment of a coastal seat at Crimdon.
Local Primary school children went to the coast and learnt about the issues and felt very strongly they wanted to help the coast in terms of both wildlife and improving human behaviour.
They drew some pictures and then they and some local teenagers made these mosaic panels.
The young children stressed the need for the seat to have arm rests so that the older people could get up easily.
Access to Beach – King Charles III Coast pathway-marking improvements
Brus to Headland Cycle Route – Hartlepool Borough Council
Coast to Clavering Walk – Hartlepool Borough Council
Red Acre Steps – Seaham Marina
Often volunteers helped test the routes and suggested improvements.
Working with archaeologists, volunteers learnt excavation techniques and how to handle finds.
Roker Gun Battery Excavation
Springwell Sound Mirror, Hartlepool
Whitburn excavation
At Seaton Carew volunteers learnt how to record buildings in the conservation area.
During the project we have developed 8 games
SeaScapes created them and covered the development costs which were quite high, but we can arrange for others to buy copies if anyone feels they are of interest.
Dive-related – Biodiversity of Wrecks, Carbon Sequestration around wreck sites – PhD articles and theses to come out after the project ended.
Food related – Used Field Names survey, accessed numerous libraries and other resources across region.
Living History NE – Sound and Picture storage personal stories archive with lots of historic pictures.
Coastal App – historic stories and photographs researched from local photographic and history groups.
The contents of this website are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 CC BY-NC.
