Listening to Young Voices – School Engagement Across the Island

We recently delivered a series of interactive school workshops across the Isle of Wight as part of the Shanklin & Yaverland Coastal Defence Scheme, working with around 160 pupils to explore coastal erosion, coastal defences, and what the Island’s coastline means to them.

Engaging with children and young people is a vital part of this project. The decisions we make today will shape the coastline for decades to come, and it is this generation who will live with, use and care for these places in the future. By involving pupils early in the process, we can better understand what matters to them and ensure their voices help inform long‑term, sustainable coastal solutions.

The sessions revealed a strong emotional connection between young people and the Island’s beaches. Pupils shared thoughtful and imaginative ideas for the future coastline, including safe swimming spaces, wildlife protection, areas for play, and places to meet and socialise. Their ideas highlighted how the coast is valued not just as a physical space, but as an important part of daily life, wellbeing and identity on the Island.

These insights are helping to broaden our understanding of how the coastline is experienced by younger generations and will inform ongoing engagement and design thinking as the project progresses.

If you would like to read more about what pupils told us, a full summary report is available in the Downloads section of this page.