Discover Rye Harbour

Discover Rye Harbour aims to connect the local community to the wildlife and landscape at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, enabling people of all ages and abilities to learn more about our rare species and habitats and to take action to help conserve them.

Our project has three main aims:

1: Connect visitors to the natural, built and human heritage of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve with a range of new interpretation

2: Engage visitors with the natural, built and human heritage of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve through an imaginative programme of activities, events and projects that

3: Offer diverse educational opportunities that use the unique setting, its layered heritage and new facilities to deliver inspirational learning

We have a comprehensive Activity Plan that is designed to deliver achievable outcomes for the following target audiences: 

• People with health issues or disabilities 
• Local low-income families 
• People aged 60+ at risk of isolation
• Young people 
• Primary schools

Project activities include conservation activities for teenagers and young adults; regular groups focussed on crafts, wildlife, history and creative writing; weekly walks; a family events programme including nature trails and lots of coastal activities; a Schools engagement programme for both Primary and Secondary schools; teacher training courses to enable local school staff to ‘Teach on the Beach’; as well as many volunteering opportunities.

Discover Rye Harbour will be running until the end of March 2024.

Wednesday Walks

Walking provides a pleasant way to improve health and well-being and to see wildlife and meet new people.

We lead these walks EVERY Wednesday morning, starting at the Rye Harbour toilets at 9.45am - to coincide with the bus from Rye.

These weekly walks are free, short and friendly, lasting between one and two hours and usually ending with an option for refreshments at the end.

The walks will give you a taste of our coastal wildlife throughout the changing seasons. Anyone can join in and there's no need to book. 

Wildlife

Meeting on the second Tuesday of the month at 2pm - 4pm

For people wanting to find out more about the wildlife of this corner of Sussex, but especially Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. We want people of any ability to join us to improve their wildlife skills and our knowledge of local wildlife. There is much local wildlife expertise that we hope to encourage to join in with this group. We'll encourage wildlife observers to increase their enjoyment and understanding and perhaps become wildlife recorders. 

Craft

Meeting in the Discovery Centre every Wednesday 1.30pm - 3.30pm.

The group meets every week, but takes a break in July and August and across the Christmas / New Year break.

For people wanting crafting company and to share skills. Bring something you are working on, or try something new with one of our small projects - crochet, cross-stitch, knitting, embroidery, patchwork, card making, needle felting.

Find out more about our Craft Group

Arts and Writing

The Lost Words for Rye Harbour project is just one of the Arts and Writing projects taking place at the Discovery Centre and out on the reserve in 2023. 

Find out more about The Lost Words at Rye Harbour.

History

Our History Group meets on the 3rd Saturday of each month to learn more about historical sites around Rye Harbour, especially the military defences from Henry VIII's Camber Castle to Pillboxes.

Documenting features of historic buildings and features in the landscape and presenting the information to a wider audience online, face to face and in print.  

The first meeting will be at the Discovery Centre to introduce Peter Hibbs and Stewart Angell of Sussex Military Research.

If are interested in joining any of these groups please contact us at [email protected]

If you are unable to make the meeting times below, but are still interested do contact us and we can support you at other times or online. 

Involving local people