Green Lancaster had a brilliant day in the bay exploring the soon-to-be home of Eden Project North through its themes of ‘education, ecology and community’. Green Lancaster headed to Morecambe Bay to explore the area where the Eden Project North will be located and find out what the project is already doing locally. The Bay: A blueprint for recovery is a community wellbeing service working in partnership with the Eden Project, Lancashire Wildlife Trust and Cumbria Wildlife Trust, to support engagement with the wildlife and biodiversity of the bay.

Amber (Community Engagement Officer at Eden Project North) and volunteers from The Bay, took us on a walk along Morecambe promenade to spot some coastal winter birds. Morecambe Bay is a Ramsar site, it has the largest area of intertidal mudflats in the UK, home to amazing biodiversity, which the Eden Project North will help people connect with. During our walk, we were able to witness some of this wonderful wildlife, spotting curlews, oystercatchers, redshanks and merganser ducks. We also learnt about threats to coastal birds, including coastal squeeze, agricultural intensification and the disruption of beach habitats by people and dogs.

Heading inland, we walked along the cycle path (which acts as a wildlife corridor) to try some winter tree identification, followed by litter picking to help improve the area for both people and wildlife. A staggering 9 bags of rubbish was gathered in just 30 minutes! Our final destination was Clay Pitts Park, a community garden project by UK charity Groundworks. The park is an important greenspace in the local community, and a vital wildlife corridor, so the project focuses on enhancing this area for all. After a hot drink and some lunch, we got involved in some practical conservation tasks at the park, such as native hedgerow planting and community garden planning. Doing something practical to contribute to the project was a highlight of the day for many!