Exe Estuary Tidelines project engages citizens of all ages

Tidelines, Home – Tidelines is a new project working with citizens of the Exe Estuary. It brings together arts, sciences, academic research and local knowledge in creative ways to learn more about this changing landscape at a time of climate and ecological emergency.

The project involves communities, local expertise, teachers, young people, schoolchildren, groups and organisations together with academic knowledge and research, developing and sharing ideas about the Estuary. The website https://tidelines.uk/activities provides a variety of on-line activities encouraging individuals and groups of all ages to engage with the project and its resources.

Anne-Marie Culhane from Tidelines answers questions about the project.

What are the key aims of Tidelines?   Tidelines aims to find out more about the dynamics of the Exe estuary and the coast. The focus is on the changes taking place now and the various predictions for the future, and how these will impact the multi-species local landscapes.

We want to create a research hub that invites a rich dialogue across disciplines bringing together estuary communities and academic knowledge and research so we can respond to, act on, and adapt to changes in local ecosystems and connect to wider global narratives.

The research hub addresses three questions:

• How can we celebrate and learn together about the Exe estuary and coast?
• What do we want and need to know about our unique location?
• How can we be active in responding to changes to our environment and climate at a time of climate and ecological emergency?

How is the local community involved?

The project is working with academics and researchers from the Global Systems Institute at the University of Exeter, the Met Office, The Marine Biology Association and other organisations to devise talks, walks, discussions and participatory activities that inform and inspire – creating spaces where researchers and members of the public can come together in a ‘communiversity’.  Since March 2020, new ways to engage people on-line have been created to find out more about what people are interested in and how they experience the estuary. They include taking and uploading photos, drawing maps, recording sightings and asking questions. These activities are suitable for all ages and will interest teachers and their students at primary and secondary level.

Tidelines have carefully and artfully designed an ‘Exe Estuary Box’ which is made almost entirely of recycled paper and materials. The box can be posted through a letterbox and a has been created to encourage people to take part activities from home or in schools, as individuals or groups.  https://tidelines.uk/blog/the-exe-estuary-box

Exe Estuary Box activities – Credit Jo Salter

The project is particularly keen to encourage participation from secondary age children and the activities can fit into a number of curriculum areas. In a primary setting the Tidelines activities work best with the upper years of primary – year 4 to 6.

Tidelines has also run online events with the Met Office and the Marine Biology Association looking at Sea Temperature change and a series of small in-person events and an online event working with the Libraries Service with a mass estuary wide reading of Rachel Carson’s book The Sea Around Us which over 100 people took part in.

In what ways can teachers, young people and school children be involved in Tidelines?

 School children can support the project and join in activities directly through the website or by getting hold of an Exe Estuary Box. The Exe Estuary Box – Tidelines

Exe Estuary Box – Credit Jo Salter

Activities can be done individually, or alongside a friend or family member.  The box works best if primary age children work alongside or supported by an adult or other family members so encouraging intergenerational learning.

The Box invites engagement through collaboration and discussion. Children under 18 just need a parent or guardian to sign when they send things back to Tidelines, and their submissions can be named or anonymous.  Lesson plans using the activities with Year 4 classes are being devised with a local primary school and the website itself provides a range of useful resources about the Exe.  There are additional resources on the Exe Estuary Partnership website

When was Tidelines set up, and how is it funded?

 Funding for Tidelines was secured for the pilot year 2020/2021 from University of Exeter with funding from the ERASMUS + Socially Engaged Universities Fund with additional support from SWCTN (South West Creative Technology Network) and Global Systems Institute and Wild East Devon. Further funding is being sought for the next phase of the work. Tidelines is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) with an advisory board.

How will Tidelines share its experiences in 2021 and beyond?

 A display of contributions together with walks and outdoor activities are planned for Spring 2021. The outcomes, learning and contributions from the wider community in the pilot year will be reviewed and research areas and points of community/researcher collaboration will be identified leading to future collaborations with the University and other research institutions.

Why do you think it is important for people from a wide range of backgrounds and experience to be involved in the Tidelines community project?

Our position is that we are all estuarine people. The estuary is our home, and we share it with communities of animals, plants, insects and microorganisms.  We are all linked into the catchment area and are all part of a changing landscape. We are all stakeholders and changes impact all of us in one way or another whether we like it or not!

As we continue to feel the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss these impacts will become more acute and we will need to make careful decisions and figure out intelligent and sensitive ways to respond, adapt, restore or retreat. Tidelines believes that the communities of the Exe hold between us a huge amount of local knowledge and expertise to share between each other and with academics and researchers. We all see the estuary differently and this gives a vibrant, colourful picture of what is here, what we might lose, what we might welcome, and what we need to take care of.

The arts and sciences give different ways to share, express and learn about the complexity of our relationships with place and are equally important. It feels vital that knowledge can flow more freely between people of different ages, skills and professions and between different disciplines.  We need to step into a space where as a community we can be more informed in a whole systems approach to our locality and environment and taking a more vocal role in playing an active part in caring for the place that we live and to avoid decisions being made for us. Tidelines wants to play a small part in giving voice to the estuary and its people.  Our moto is: “Tell me and I will forget, show me and I may remember; involve me and I will understand.” Confuscius

Finding out more: https://tidelines.uk

Information about the Exe Estuary Box: The Exe Estuary Box – Tidelines  

Video on Exe Estuary Box: https://youtu.be/ZiG5Fhd2atY