Discovering Landscapes
Heritage ‘Coast to Coast’ Project: Tennyson Heritage Coast at Compton Bay
Equals IW Friends and Family Group joined Kathy to explore and discover the cliff coastline. Kathy is a Nature Connector and helped the group learn about the different bird, butterfly and plant species found on the coastal path including
- Sea beet, an edible plant adapted to produce modern-day sugar beet
- Buckshorn plantain, another edible plant (buck's horn)
- Ribwort plantain, a food plant for the rare Glanville Fritillary butterfly
- Thrift, called sea pink and attractive to bees and butterflies
- Lesser Celandine, provides early-season nectar for pollinators like bees and hoverflies
Down on the beach at Compton Bay Kathy demonstrated how to make some charcoal on an open beach fire.
Everyone enjoyed cooking, on the open beach fire, Crab Damper bread on sticks with sea beet foraged on the day.
The group also joined Gina who is also a Creative Connector, and learnt how to use a selection of oils, pastels, crayons and coloured pencils to create sketches of the land and seascapes of Compton Bay.
The session was very interactive, creative and hands-on, enabling all to take part in a really fun and exciting learning experience.
They were able to switch off, get up close and connect with nature and each other.
The time spent together ‘Discovering Landscapes’ at Compton Bay was a perfect way to enhance emotional wellbeing and mental health while enjoying the fantastic coastline views.
We took photos
The Heritage Coast-to-Coast project (pdf 412kB) uses the great outdoors to enhance positive emotional wellbeing, self-confidence, self-esteem and mental health.