The UK's environmental strategy will be set in a 25-year plan supervised by DEFRA and advised by the Natural Capital Committee. Natural Capital is the elements of nature that directly or indirectly produce value to people, including ecosystems, species, freshwater,
Peru, but not a sign of Paddington Bear on the Camera Traps…..

Coastwise's AGM session was a bit of a mixed bag, with members hearing about an Amazon expedition, rare local birds and videos of microscopic worms, as well as the rquired bit of AGM governance. Jack Wiggins, an environmental studies student
Honourable Members……….

The 2017 member's session yielded its usual rich harvest of talent and inspiration. Cat Oliver, AONB Coastal Creatures Project Officer, gave a harrowing account of trying to live plastic-free for a month. Because of the near-universal use of plastic packaging
Area of Outstanding Natural Interest……

Cat Oliver, local AONB project officer, is not one to shirk a challenge, and she addressed the problem of summarising the huge range of the current AONB Coastal Creatures Project. This is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and covers
Diverse Diver’s Dividends……

It pays dividends to be a diver with a small camera in a case waterproof to 50m, and not too bothered about all the paraphernalia of big cameras, multiple flash guns, exposures, white balance etc. etc. etc. Chris Mandry of
Sub Sea, Species Shine…..
Coastwise members between them see quite a lot of marine fauna and algae, but scuba diver Mags Ashton sees it much better….and photographs it brilliantly, giving members a real visual feast. When not diving into a spreadsheet, accountant and keen
MBA Pincer Movement……

Paula Ferris reports from the recent MBA Crab Workshop at Lee Bay – Crabs have a lot going for them. Everyone loves them, especially children – right. There are not many species on our shore so it is easy to
Rising Tide of Knowledge…..

Marine enthusiast and educator Heather Buttivant is a shining example of what she preaches – "you can teach yourself". As a self-taught marine expert she received no formal biological education, having, in her own words ‘looked into the biology lab
Rock of ages, (c)left for me 58M years ago….

When Augustus M Toplady composed the hymn, he wasn't necessarily thinking of Lundy. However, Coastwise most members love the island, and Dr Stan Coats gave them a detailed history of its granite from its genesis about 58M years ago, to
Seal the Marine Mammals around us…..
Sue Sayer (top L with colleague Kate Hockley) of the Cornwall Seal Group opened the Coastwise Autumn session with the ever-popular topic of seals. The south west is fortunate in its seals, home to a significant proportion of the UK’s