CAN YOU HEAR US? Local People Help Create Homes for Marine Life in the Bay

The Shanklin and Yaverland Coastal Defence Schemes were delighted to be selected as part of Creative Island's CAN YOU HEAR US? initiative, a six-week programme, celebrating creativity, culture and community across the Isle of Wight.

Working alongside Artecology, we recently delivered a series of hands-on workshops with young people at the Brading Youth Club, and with local residents at Science Beach in Sandown, exploring how engineering and nature can work together along our coastline.

Participants learned about how coastal defences help protect local communities from the risks of erosion and flooding. One of the highlights of the workshop was an interactive wave tank, where people experimented with different coastal defence options such as rock armour, wave recurve walls, and even kelp to see how different measures reduce wave energy and help protect the coastline. Participants also exploring a flood hazard tank, where they were challenged to find some of the often-hidden dangers associated with flood water. The workshop also provided an opportunity for people to speak directly with the project team and ask questions about the Shanklin and Yaverland Coastal Defence Schemes.

Working with clay, participants designed and created habitat features that will be incorporated into the Vertipools being installed across the Bay. These features will help create homes for marine life and enhance biodiversity along the shoreline for years to come! It was fantastic to see so many people getting involved in the workshops, from young children to adults, all contributing to a real environmental project that will become part of the Bay's coastline. We would like to thank everyone who attended, along with Artecology, Isle of Wight Council and Creative Island, for helping make the workshops such a success.

You can watch a short video of the beach workshop here!