Celebrating 5 years since the Discovery Centre opened

24 May 2026 marks five years since the Discovery Centre opened. This wonderful Centre was made possible thanks to tireless support from the community led by the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve plus a generous donation from the Layton family and so many others. Sussex Wildlife Trust also received a grant of over half a million pounds from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for its Discover Rye Harbour project, which transformed the way visitors engage with the natural and cultural heritage of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve.

We wanted to transform people’s engagement in, and conservation of, the special natural environment and wider heritage of the nature reserve creating a fantastic resource for thousands of visitors. Visitors of all ages can learn more about the rare and special wildlife at the reserve through school excursions and adult education.

Five years on and we’ve achieved more than we could have imagined. We expect to have welcomed more than 1 million visitors by the end of 2026.

From discovering the amazing adaptations of the birds and salt marsh pollinators to the changing landscape and human history of the reserve, we have shared the importance of nature with an estimated 7,000 children.

Whether it’s explaining how to get the best from your binoculars to helping people to spot some of our more elusive wildlife. It’s been amazing to see more than ten thousand people joining our events to connect with the wonder of the reserve.

We’re proud to say that in 2022 the state-of-the-art building won the Public & Community Award at the Sussex Heritage Awards. Cliff Dean, chair of the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve at the time, praised the architect Stuart Allen saying "I find myself in constant admiration for the genius of architect, who so brilliantly recognised the qualities of the surrounding landscape and drew attention to them through tall windows framing awe-inspiring bird-flocks and cloudscapes and river prospects which startle some as high tides flood the saltings or permit the passage of a large freighter." 

None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for the incredible community support, such as Rye Golf Club who held an event that raised £12,000 to the prestigious Great Dixter who hosted a fundraising event. We spoke to their senior gardener, Michael Wachter to hear how it feels five years on, after seeing what their efforts contributed to.

After seeing a recent statistic that found 75% of children spend less time outside than the average prisoner - which is 1 hour. I feel we are not only fighting the extinction of wildlife species but also profound extinction of nature based experiences. I have noticed since having the Discovery Centre more young people and families are visiting RHNR, which I hope will help to develop core memories of nature that will stay with children into adulthood - which makes me feel really proud and happy that I was able to help this to happen. The Discovery Centre has made a comfortable and interesting place for people who may not be so connected to nature.

We believe everyone should have access to nature, so we have worked hard to make the Discovery Centre one of East Sussex’s most accessible venues. It was considered in all aspects of the design, and the work continues five years on.

Frank Gardner, President of The British Trust for Ornithology, was the first wheelchair user to visit the centre, before construction was even complete. Since then we’ve bought two mobility scooters that are available to hire free of charge to anyone who would find them helpful.

Staff recently had Vision Awareness training, which resulted in us now offering free places to carers and sighted guides on our events. We were kindly donated a desk magnifier by East Sussex Vision Support, to help visitors with sight loss to enjoy the wildlife.

Community is still at the heart of everything we do. An art wall was installed, which is run by volunteers Peter and Morgan from the Avocet Gallery. The exhibition changes every month, and showcases the work of local artists who are inspired by the incredible surroundings of the reserve.

The building is designed to have a big impact on the community and a small one on the environment. Clad in responsibly sourced Sweet Chestnut panels from a coppice woodland near Hastings, it sits atop 1.2m concrete stilts to withstand regular saltwater flooding. Ninety solar panels on the roof provide renewable energy, with the goal of making the building self-sustaining. Rockwool insulation, built-in ventilation panels, and an air source heat pump for underfloor heating all reduce reliance on conventional heating and cooling.

Of course a huge thanks to the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve who are an extraordinary group of around 2,000 members, who have been raising money and volunteering for more than 50 years to improve the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, working with the Sussex Wildlife Trust to conserve the landscape, to protect wildlife and provide a great visitor experience.

Here’s to many more years at the Discovery Centre.