Young snorkeller underwater, Image by Lewis Jefferies
The Your Shore Network
The Your Shore Network
Cornwall has a thriving network of dedicated and skilled local marine volunteer groups all around its coastline, who look after and shout about their wonderful marine wildlife. Set up by Cornwall Wildlife Trust, the Your Shore Network consists of 18 community-led marine conservation groups across the county. These groups work together sharing data, ideas, and resources to present a united voice advocating for better protection for our coast. The groups run surveys, beach cleans and events, training their own Beach Rangers and young volunteers to take part in Cornwall Wildlife Trust citizen science projects such as Shoresearch, Seasearch and Seaquest. The data they collect help monitor the health of Cornish waters, providing evidence of the threats to our valuable marine life and the need for better protection. All groups are distinctively different, catering their marine work to their unique marine environment and often running interactive, fun and educational public events and talks, raising awareness of and campaigning on behalf of their marine life and habitats.
Your Shore Project
Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Cornwall Wildlife Trust have been working on the next phase of ‘Your Shore’, with an initial focus in the Mounts Bay area. This vital work further expands our work supporting the growing movement of action in Cornwall to protect our marine wildlife and increase the impact of the Your Shore Network to aid Cornwall’s nature recovery at sea, including a co-created Charter of the Sea.
We are working with schools and groups in the area to connect with their local environments and take action to tackle the ecological and climate crisis. We use fun activities to connect with children and young people, including those from low-income families or excluded from mainstream education, to engage with nature and the marine environment to help improve wellbeing, appreciation for nature, and awareness of conservation issues. The learning from this project will inform a larger, county-wide project for engaging disadvantaged children and young people with nature.
Beach Rangers at a Snorkel Safari, Image by Lewis M Jefferies
Three Bays Wildlife Group's Love Your Beach event
YSBR's Adele talking at a honeycomb worm talk in Bude
The Your Shore Beach Rangers' 2019 Conference
Charter of the Sea
Would you like to see more water refill stations or a bodyboard return scheme in your local area? Do you think disturbance is a big problem for our marine life? Our Your Shore project want to hear your views on how we can best protect Cornwall’s marine environment. Your thoughts will help form a new plan of action, the Cornwall Charter of the Sea, that will be taken forward by our marine team and the dedicated local marine groups and volunteers that make up the Your Shore Network.
Ten minutes of your time can help us turn the tide for our precious seas!
Your Shore Award
Cornwall Wildlife Trust has created the Your Shore award for all ages and abilities to explore the world of wildlife conservation, to learn new skills, volunteer and even take the lead!
Anyone can complete the Award, in as little as a dedicated week or over several months. The 5 challenges are really flexible so you can follow your own interests or work with others to find out what is available in your area (or online) to contribute to making the world a wilder place!
Mounts Bay Marine Trail
Whether it’s a short jaunt from Newlyn to Jubilee Pool, taking in the Gwelen trail or completing the whole route, this accessible trail has something for everyone.
More from the Your Shore Network
Your Shore Beach Rangers
The Your Shore Beach Rangers Project has spent five years uniting communities and young people to combat threats to their local marine environment. The Project has been a successful collaboration between Cornwall College and Cornwall Wildlife Trust, engaging with over 16,000 young people and 17,000 members of communities across Cornwall over the last five years. The project finished in March 2021, but it is leaving a lasting legacy and there are still plenty of ways to get involved!
The Your Shore Beach Rangers was funded by The National Lottery Community Fund as part of the Our Bright Futures programme – a movement of 31 youth-led projects around the UK which empower young people to help protect their local environment. They achieve this through the ‘Three Asks’ identified by young people in their Youth Forum.
- More time spent learning in and about nature
- Support in getting into environmental careers
- To have an environmental voice which is listened to by employers, organisations, and policy makers.
Our Bright Future aims to tackle three big challenges facing society today; a lack of social cohesion, a lack of opportunities for young people, and a vulnerability to climate change.
Watch the celebratory end of project film to find out more about the team's work!
The Beach Rangers Academy
The Beach Ranger Academy awards Bronze, Silver or Gold qualifications to Beach Rangers who have completed training in volunteering, skills, event planning, and fitness and wellbeing. 666 young people qualified during the five year Your Shore Beach Rangers Project, with training covering a wide range of topics including sustainable living and beach safety, with incredible opportunities such as speaking at the annual Your Shore Conference and running their own events and campaigns. The Beach Rangers Academy training has empowered young people who are passionate about our seas to take action in protecting our precious marine environments, and giving them the skills, confidence and experience to ensure their voice is heard.
Educational resources for the Beach Rangers Academy training are available free on the Cornwall College Open Moodle Page. These can be used to carry out the training in your own home, at a local youth group or in your local Your Shore Network Group to inspire and engage young people with marine conservation. Please log in as a guest to access these resources.
Access The Beach Rangers Academy's Resources
Despite the Your Shore Beach Rangers funding coming to an end, it has helped to grow and strengthen the Your Shore Network leaving a legacy of amazing opportunities to get involved in marine conservation across Cornwall.