Please follow the links below for information on the Marine Stewardship Fund and Communities & Renewables Fund Case Studies from 2006.
The Shark Trust’s Great Eggcase Hunt
The Shark Trust’s Great Eggcase Hunt actively encourages the British public to count eggcases that wash up on our beaches. The identification of these eggcase concentrations enable the Shark Trust to propose conservation measures required to reverse the decline of skate and ray around the UK
The Crown Estate is supporting the project in 2006 to provide promotional materials including posters, stickers and leaflets for schools and members of the public in time for the spring / summer identification and recording events of cast-up eggcases.
Our funds will also help create an interactive website to enable open access to eggcase count data and collated results. The new website will also be used to disseminate resources to volunteer recorders and so to expand public and group involvement.
For further information visit the Great Eggcase Hunt website.
Seminars
We actively support seminars covering topics which are relevant to the management of our marine estate.
Examples include:
- the annual Coastal Futures Conference
- Integrated Coastal Zone Management seminars in Northern Ireland and Wales during 2005
- highlighting archaeological issues to marine developers at a Marine Archaeology and Seabed Development seminar in 2004
- co-funding the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers Annual Conferences in 2003 and 2005.
Pagham Spit Walkways
We are funding the installation of recycled plastic boardwalks at Pagham Harbour Local Nature Reserve to link the car park at Pagham Spit to the foreshore.
Working with English Nature we are supporting the walkways to protect the sensitive vegetated shingle habitat which forms part of the SSSI and SPA as these ridges are currently trampled by visitors every year causing substantial disturbance to the sensitive and specialist flora and fauna. The walkways will provide opportunities for less mobile and wheelchair users to access and enjoy the shore. They will also facilitate interpretation and regular events/activities to raise awareness of the marine environment.
RAFTS Core Funds
Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (RAFTS) is an organisation involved in restoring declining populations of wild fish (predominantly salmon, sea trout and brown trout), preserving healthy fish stocks, and conserving riverine and loch habitats. RAFTS acts to raise funds (both directly and in an advisory capacity) and co-ordinates the work of its member Fisheries Trusts.
The Crown Estate is funding this organisation as core funds most of the twenty-two Scottish Fisheries Trusts; the Association of West Coast Fisheries Trusts and the large Fisheries Trusts from the main east coast rivers.
For more information please visit the RAFTS website.
Green Blue
The Green Blue is an environmental awareness project co-ordinated by the British Marine Federation (BMF) and the Royal Yachting Association (RYA). The project encourages boaters and boating businesses to be more environmentally aware and to take action to limit their impact on the marine environment.
The Crown Estate’s support has match funded DEFRA’s contribution (which is only applicable to project development in England and Wales) and enables the Green Blue to be developed across Scotland and Northern Ireland over the initial three-year phase of the project.
For more information visit The Green Blue website.
JNAPC Code of Good Practice
The Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee (JNAPC) works to raise awareness of British underwater heritage as well as developing proposals for legislative reform.
With the emergence of offshore renewables as an industry sector and an increased awareness of the need to manage and protect our marine historic environment, The Crown Estate and JNAPC thought it timely and topical to produce a revised version of their seabed developers code of practice.
The new code looks to build on the principles set out in the original and offers guidance to developers on issues such as risk management and legislative implications. It also provides a comprehensive list of expert contacts for further advice. The code highlights the responsibility of developers in protecting the UK’s marine heritage and identifies the potential benefits to companies which follow best practice.
The Crown Estate views the new code as an essential reference point for all sectors looking to undertake development of the seabed around the UK as it will encourage a responsible approach to preserving our cultural marine resources.
back to top
Ceredigion Boat Place
The Crown Estate is supporting the Ceredigion Bay Boat Place, Cardigan Bay, as a new focal point for the dissemination of key environmental messages and a Code of Conduct for boat users in the area.
Using a mixture of interactive displays, the Boat Place will ensure tourists and those launching from Cardigan Bay know about the presence of protected marine wildlife and the issues related to disturbance by boats. The Boat Place will be used by the local Biodiversity and Coastcare Officers.
Messages developed for the Boat Place will be promoted across the whole of Cardigan Bay at tourist information centres, booths at launching sites, boat clubs and sailing schools, harbour masters and in shops and cafes.
The Boat Place was officially opened in May 2006.
ReactiviTEES - Teesmouth industry and Wildlife Partnership
Working with English Nature and other partners, The Crown Estate is supporting the ReactiviTEES project to raise awareness, access, understanding and public engagement with the Teesmouth National Nature Reserve (NNR).
The ReactiviTees project will produce an education pack about the reserve for use by local schools, a children’s activity booklet and new interpretation on the site. A programme of events are targeted at employees of the industries as well as local communities. The events will include seal watches, bird watches, guided walks and talks and work with other organisations.
Dunwich Heath Cetacean Lookout
During the Second World War, Dunwich Heath was requisitioned for military training and used as a coastal strongpoint. Many of the structures remain so the National Trust, The Crown Estate and others have funded the development of a cetacean viewing station.
Conversion of a redundant WW2 generator building into a cetacean viewing building with high quality telescopes and binoculars and information to help watchers to correctly identify the marine life they see. The building has also been designed to enable access for visitors with walking difficulties.
The intention is that volunteer observers will undergo training by the Sea Watch Foundation making regular reports on what can be seen out at sea, particularly the movements of whales, dolphins and porpoises but also other marine wildlife such as seals. These records will feed into the Sea Watch Foundation and the Suffolk Biological Research Centre’s databases.
The centre was opened on 15 August 2006.
Campaign for Clean Seas - Marine Conservation Society
The Campaign for Clean Seas is one of the Marine Conservation Society’s flagship projects involving local individuals, groups and communities in caring for their coastal environment.
The Crown Estate has supported the 'Good Beach Guide' and the 'Adopt a Beach' programme since 1999 as it helps to raise the profile of and address the issues of coastal litter and water quality.
The initiative aims to encourage and inform people about the standard of British beaches and to get local communities involved in the reduction and removal of marine and coastal litter.
For more information please visit the Marine Conservation Society website.
Luce Bay and Sands European Marine Site - Management and Monitoring Plan
The Crown Estate is helping to support the development of a management programme at the Solway Firth’s Luce Bay Special Area of Conservation to ensure the important coastal habitats and species of the site are maintained.
Before it can be developed, current and future activities on the site need to be measured to:
- identify pressures;
- determine the site's key stakeholders;
- highlight and understand any conflicting issues; review existing management policies and agreements, and
- gauge the awareness of the Special Area of Conservation designation.
These will identify any data gaps and determine how the management scheme will be developed.
The development of the management plan will require production of management tools and deliverables, including site interpretation materials; good practice guides and voluntary Codes of Practice; site Action Plans, and possibly the physical management of land.
Once this work is completed, a long term monitoring programme will be established to ensure the status of the Special Area of Conservation is maintained.
Renewable Energy Information Touch Screen Displays
The Scottish Seabird Centre has recently expanded to create an environment zone that augments their information about seabirds. The Marine Stewardship Fund has supported the design and development of three touch screen displays on renewable energies: wind, wave and tidal. These screens provide an introduction to each of the technologies, the amount of energy which may be generated and Scotland’s involvement with marine renewables. The displays accompany information on recycling, use of water resources and an introduction to climate change.
Tom Brock, Chief Executive at the Scottish Seabird Centre said: “The new interactive exhibits in the Environment Zone have proved extremely popular. Without the support of The Crown Estate, these exhibits could not have been installed."
For further information please visit the Scottish Seabird Centre website.
back to top
|
