Laura Ross
Communications Officer, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
As we turn the page on 2024, it's time to look back on another memorable year that has seen over 170,000 visitors step through the doors of the Discovery Centre. I caught up with some of the team to hear their highlights from the past year and hopes for the year ahead.
Alice Oakley, Volunteer Coordinator
This year, we've had 153 dedicated volunteers who have contributed over 4000 hours of their time to the nature reserve. We've created several new roles, such as our moth trap volunteers, who recorded 185 different species, including two occasions seeing the rare Sussex Emerald Moth. We've also introduced fence-checker volunteers who have spent lots of time ensuring our fences are predator-proof. This work is vital to ensure ground nesting birds like terns are protected from predators and have the best chance of breeding successfully. Our new bird survey volunteers have recorded the location and numbers of nesting birds, to help the Land Management team plan for the future. Next year, we'll be on the search for 'Lookerers' to monitor our new goat grazing herd!
Gesine Garz, Head of the Discovery Centre
The Discovery Centre was built with huge windows to offer the best views from our café, to the stunning setting of the nature reserve and the wildlife. However, the large glass and concrete surfaces in the building caused a lot of sound reverberation, especially in busy areas like the café and classroom. It made it challenging for visitors with auditory impairments or those who experience discomfort in noisy environments. Towards the end of this year, we've installed sound absorption panels throughout the café and event spaces. It's made a real difference and we've had lots of positive comments from visitors who have noticed the improved acoustics.
Sarah Watson, Events Officer
This year we've held 36 fun family sessions, including guided play trails and moth trap openings. We organised 18 public wildlife walks and talks and hosted visits from local community groups. There have been 16 fundraising art, craft and heritage events, including two Makers’ Markets and four popular ‘Dinners with a View’. We also hosted our first live music event, in a fully-booked tribute to the Mary Stanford's courageous lifeboat crew of 1928. A highlight for me was welcoming residents from the Four Courts, a high rise community in Hastings. One of the group said: "This has changed our lives with these outings. Being in fresh air with the sun and birds - it’s very enjoyable".
Rowan Bunney, Retail Manager
We’ve had some fun new stuff in the shop this year including British nature-inspired stationery from illustrators Sarah Frances and James Barker. After being impressed at our Summer Makers Marker by local designers, Jackdaw & Bear, we now stock their beautiful wooden pin badges. For Christmas time, we've got brand new, quirky wooden decorations from independent maker Silverpasta, as well as gorgeous embroidered decorations from Fair Trade supplier Shared Earth.
Arthur Sloman, Visitor Experience Manager
We've got a new Wilder Learning team bringing their skills and expertise to the nature reserve, so we'll be offering a mix of events and activities that benefit everyone. This might be through arts and heritage in our skills workshops or focusing on bringing action for nature into people's lives with our wildlife tours, talks and courses.
The calendar for 2025 is quickly filling up with school trips, home-ed sessions and free family activities. Local businesses can now take part in our beach clean and litter survey corporate volunteering days, helping to make a positive impact on the local environment.
Aimi Rifat, Wilder Learning & Communities Officer
A particular highlight for me this year has been attending Beach School and Forest School training with Sussex Wildlife Trust. It has had a big impact on my approach to teaching and I'm really looking forward to developing these skills in the future. It's been great to re-establish the children’s education provision, delivering both home education sessions and school visits, where we explored various aspects of the nature reserve. I've also loved connecting children to nature through art and craft sessions, which have included mono-printing, felt making and exploring the mosaic of habitats and natural objects up-close under the microscope, through mark-making.
As we gear up for 2025, we'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas on how you think we can make the Discovery Centre even better. Please email us at [email protected] with your suggestions.
This post is also available on Sussex Wildlife Trust website
