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DCF News
Future Studland – Join the Conversation
DCF project officer Elaine and partners from the National Trust have launched the Future Studland Plan this week. Future Studland will span the peninsula from Shell Bay to Old Harry Rocks, and include the beaches, roads, services and habitats, as well as the village itself in a bid to write a holistic plan for the next 20-50 years. Early stages of engagement have included workshops with key stakeholders and local business tenants. In July there will be two drop ins at the Village Hall in Studland where residents and the public are invited to have their say.
Studland Bay Marine Partnership
The partnership is delighted to announce that installation of all 87 eco-moorings is now complete and are regularly being used by visitors coming to the bay by boat. In May, research and monitoring divers from the University of Southampton recorded and observed seagrass regrowth in the voluntary no anchor zone, a direct result of the benefits of eco-moorings. See the video on the website here
We continue to discuss challenges and opportunities for the programme with the community and with stakeholders. Our next event is online on Wednesday 19th June 7-8.15pm. Ross Fitzgerald Associate Director of Geomorphology at Jacobs will present more detail on coastal erosion, the CTAP programme and options for using the EA funding available as well as collating proposals from the community.
To book your place please contact sara.parker@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
To support development of the Outline Business Case (OBC), DCF led a stakeholder workshop and a public drop-in event, both of which were well attended. Thank you if you were able to attend one of these events! DCF have collected feedback on what is important to people, and how funding for adapting to coastal change can best benefit the community.
The project team are now working on shortlisting options for the OBC, incorporating feedback from the engagement events. DCF will be holding more engagement events as the project progresses. For more information, to sign up for updates, or to provide further comments on how you think the fund could be used, visit the project page.
We are working with Litter Free Dorset and have launched a new survey to discover how and where you spend your beach days. We want to know all about your top beach spots, favourite activities, and thoughts on litter and water cleanliness.
Your input will help to inform issues such as beach access, facilities and water quality monitoring in the future. So dive into our survey right now!
Save the date for the DCF Conference – 24 October 2024! #CoastalConnection Join us on the 24 October for an engaging and informative day at the Weymouth Pavilion. Our conference is tailored for our valued members and promises a line up of insightful presentations and networking opportunities. Look out for additional details and members will be sent your official invitation!
Staying safe on the Dorset Coast #RespectTheCoast Explore our new webpage where we offer essential guidance for safely and responsibly enjoying coastal activities, linking visitors to the appropriate expert websites. Thank you to Resort Dorset magazine for sharing these messages in Resort Dorset 2024 (p19-20) and on their website.
Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) #CoastalInnovation We’ve also launched a dedicated webpage that provides information on Dorset’s Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs), complete with direct links to the detailed plans available on the Environment Agency’s website.
Welcome to Elaine! We’re pleased to introduce Elaine Snow, our newest addition to the DCF team! Elaine has joined us this month as a Project Officer, focusing on projects in the Studland area. With her extensive background in delivering partnership projects across destination management, the charities sector, and events, Elaine brings a wealth of experience to our team. Check out our news updates for more details on the projects Elaine will be supporting.
Denys Brunsden(1936-2024) We would like to thank our members for your kind and thoughtful emails in response to the sad news reporting the passing of Denys Brunsden, who was one of the DCF co-founders in 1994. Our thoughts and deepest sympathy are with Denys’s wife, family and friends.
It is with great sadness that we must report the death of Denys Brunsden who was one of the co-founders of the Dorset Coast Forum in 1994 and became the very first Chairperson, a role he maintained for some 12 years.
It was during this exciting period that Denys steered the young Forum towards an application for world heritage status for the Dorset and East Devon Coastlines. The apocryphal story says that he and others, were having a drink in a local pub when Denys suggested that the adjacent coastline was so important geologically and geomorphologically, that is deserved to be recognised and elevated on to the world stage…. and hence the seven-year journey towards receiving that accolade. Denys remained a Patron of the Jurassic Coast Trust until the very end of his life.
It is also worth conjecturing that the recognition now given to Mary Anning as the ‘Mother of Palaentology’ would not have happened without the world heritage status accolade (conceived by Denys) and that her contribution to world science would have remained in obscurity.
His knowledge and expertise in the field was second to none and his willingness to support others, especially students and those developing their skills and craft were well known and a further testament is that many of his former students now hold positions of importance in the field of geology and the associated sciences.
The structure and composition of the Dorset Coast Forum may have evolved over the past 30 years but the ethos of respecting and caring for the Dorset coast, that formed the basis to build upon that Denys gave us has certainly not changed.
