Conservation & Science update. October 2024

October has been a hectic month on the science and conservation side of the JCTs work. 

Saskia has been very busy meeting with lots of different and interesting people, first of all in Worthing with other leaders of Protected Site Strategy projects to share information about how things can and might work with these, still new, tools for nature conservation. Then she was down in Plymouth to participate in some early exploration of the concept of a ‘Wild Belt’ based on the coastal margin of the King Charles III England coast path. The next day she was presenting at Dorset Coast Forum’s annual conference about the Jurassic Coast Geoheritage Sustainability Study and her innovative use of short-form videos on TikTok in public engagement. 

Meanwhile, earlier in the month, Sam was in Budleigh Salterton to help with the Pebblebed Heath Trust’s ‘Wetland Weekender’, leading a fully-booked geology walk to find the evidence to reconstruct the Triassic ‘Budleighensis’ river and also giving a talk about what makes the East Devon coast a valuable part of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. Then, on 24th, Chris and Sam travelled to Birmingham for an incredibly exciting day helping to shape a multi-million-pound research bid that, if successful, will support a ten year cross-disciplinary international research programme into Earth Heritage. And the Jurassic Coast would feature as a key demonstrator site throughout it!

Yes, sometimes it is hard to keep up with all the opportunities that a 96 mile-long geological World Heritage Site throws up, but it is anything but boring.