Category Archives: Coastal Communities

We thought this was lovely.

”…in March 2020, the choirs fell silent. The Voice Project had planned to start rehearsing a new show, Arc of the Sky, inspired by the idea of a bird’s-eye view of Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh, known as the Cathedral of the Marshes, the landscape it sits in – the Blyth estuary – and the coastline.

Performances were planned there for July. Instead, we made this film with the singers recording and filming themselves. This is the result…”

Source: The Voice Project – Discover more here https://www.voiceproject.co.uk/about/

                                  See this wonderful creation on YouTube here

Beautiful filmic and voice creative work. Uplifting and contemplative also – but firmly anchored with their humanity.

Perfect for these difficult times.

Happy Seasonal Holiday from all the consEAST team!

Could you do it?

Supporting St. Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich, Suffolk, UK this season

Are you ready for your dip with St. Elizabeth Hospice?
This year will be the 16th annual Christmas Day dip for St. Elizabeth Hospice. Brave souls can see more about this fabulously refreshing event here.
Christmas Day Dip 2019  – 25th December, 8.30 – 11.00am
…on Felixstowe Seafront.

You can sign up and get your tickets on this Eventbrite page here.

What the hospice strives for, with your help.
”St Elizabeth Hospice aims to improve life for people living with progressive and terminal illnesses by:
  • Providing multi-disciplinary holistic specialist and dedicated palliative care services to patients, their families and carers
  • Working alongside other statutory and voluntary agencies to provide specialist and dedicated palliative care, in a timely manner, where the patient wishes to be
  • Acting as a resource to the local community regarding general and specialist palliative care to increase confidence and competence in improving life for people living with a progressive illness
  • Providing care that respects the choices made by patients and their families so that patients are treated in their preferred place and die in their place of choice where possible
  • Working towards equitable provision of all services, leading to increased use of services by people with non-malignant progressive disease, and those from seldom-heard communities”

(Source: https://www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk)  See more and give more on their informative and compassionate web pages.

 

Winter dip image: Delphine Ducaruge - Unsplash, Creative Commons

 

This new research report from the New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a refreshing look at our coastal communities and their economies.

It provides proposals for action, which are leavened through a recognition of history and localised specialist skills. The analysis is elevated beyond the ordinary ‘top down research’ by emphasising the need for socio-political and economic frameworks in coastal communities which re-connect people  with nature and the coastal landscape – a series of contours that are geographical, industrial and philosophical.

The report takes us out of the ivory tower and into the sand dunes.

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See your copy here…

pdfIcon4  You can view, print or download a pdf copy of this NEF report here…

Previous NEF research has already looked at how  a low-carbon economy can generate new jobs and economic entities,  that can offer secure, decently paid and satisfying work in a more equally distributed economic landscape. See more here…

The essence of the New Blue Deal is to build on existing initiatives and create a mixed framework of five changes and economic thematic deliveries, which are sustainable, inviting and inclusive to the communities of focus.

  • Ÿ Ÿsustainable fisheries and aquaculture
  • renewable energy
  • coastal tourism and related activities
  • Ÿ innovative approaches to coastal management
  • opportunities to re-connect people with nature

‘For the fishing industry, for example, NEF analysis  shows that restoring UK fish stocks to healthy levels and promoting lower carbon emissions through
quota allocation across the main UK fishing fleets would mean an extra 457,000 tonnes of fish landed each year, leading to an additional £268 million
GVA (Gross Value Added) and a 24% increase in employment, the equivalent of 4,922 new jobs’.

Source: Carpenter, G., Esteban, A. (2015) Managing EU fisheries in the public interest: Results from the Bio-Economic Model of European Fleets. New Economics Foundation. Results calculated using 2010-2012 performance. New jobs estimate is made up of fishing jobs (11%) andprocessing jobs (89%). Retrieved from: http://www.fisheriesmodel.eu/

The report looks at a variety of UK locations, with fishing being a key focus of course. However, other work is highlighted. Engagement and partnerships that work across responsible tourism, leisure and recreation.

From Anglesey Adventures, a business working in the outdoor leisure arena, to The Venus Company, working in its chain of cafes to ‘…balance customer needs with environmental and social considerations’. We particularly liked the feature on Learn to Sea, a ‘sea school’ project in South Devon. Using the coastal spaces as an educational resource which informs children and young people, but which also carries forward the ideas of sustainability, economic durability and environmental awareness into the next generation.

Here at conversationsEAST we are incredibly fond of the Suffolk coastline, for example. But we look at areas around communities like Great Yarmouth or Lowestoft, with their long tradition of fishing and livelihoods from the sea. Whilst we recognise that ‘Big Oil’ does provide jobs and technical advancement for some sectors of the community, without doubt, creating a recognisable  influx of highly specialised employees from external sources.

Whilst this fosters economic activity which is vital, it does not reposition those communities to explore, create and sustain their history with their coastline and enable them to encourage the growth of entry level and intermediate skilled work.

The New Blue Deal does.

You do not need to spend long with the NEF document to see, in your mind, how your favourite stretch of coast can become a thriving community – a nexus of education, social and community enterprise, ocean facing and non-exploitative at every level.

We commend this report to our readers. If you would like to explore and track the New Blue Deal there is a new NEF website available here. http://www.bluenewdeal.org/

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Image credit:

News Desk image by Markus Winkler, Creative Commons, Unsplash...

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