FoSB at Riverfest August 2016:

Shoreham Beach is connected to the River Adur in many ways; Formed by the action of sea, weather, coastal processes, and the river and tied by maritime history ,there are many natural connections between Shoreham beach, the sea, river estuary and the river. So, where better to raise awareness and celebrate this than RiverFest the annual celebration of all things river and Shoreham, which took place on Coronation Green on the edge of the river Adur .

So on Saturday 27^th August, Steve Savage, assisted by Julia Fowles, took a FoSB display to Riverfest as part of the heritage Lottery Funded events. RiverFest ran over the August Bank Holiday weekend and Steve spoke to many local people allowing  FoSB to connect with a different section of the local community than we usually engage with at out nature walks etc. The event was busy all day and there was a wide range of ages.

The display stand was tailored especially for this event and explained various topics.

-‘Why Shoreham Beach is Special’ – focusing on the role of the nature reserve and the rare vegetated shingle habitat.

-‘Why the Ocean is important’ -focusing on the benefits we all receive from the ocean (freshwater, 50% of our oxygen, 15% of our food and much more included) and  how the ocean creates and moderates our climate and weather.

‘Global Problems – Local Consequences’ -focusing on rising sea temperature and how melting ice and the expanding oceans links to the local consequence of Shoreham’s sea defence work and the current river defence development. This panel also focused on plastic pollution – including micro plastics which are injected by marine life including plankton.

As part of our understanding of global issues Ed the Bear (based at Shoreham) Steve has been sending Ed to scientists around the world and sharing their knowledge with schools and also the public.

–Shoreham Beach over the centuries’– Shoreham Beach has  been formed over centuries by longshore drift and the river Adur.  Using maps starting at 13^th Century to modern time, this panel also explained about Shoreham’s important maritime heritage including the ship building and trade

-‘Wildlife  of the Adur estuary and beach’-  showing examples of the many sightings of seals and dolphins recorded over the years – off Shoreham beach and in the river Adur . Steve, as volunteer  Sussex Regional Coordinator for the Sea Watch Foundation has kept records since 1993.