The Education Hub is our new go-to resource for coastal information and learning materials. It is designed to provide students and teachers at schools, colleges, and universities with access to a wealth of educational resources related to the Dorset coast, including:
Please take a look and share with your education teams and contacts.
Have you booked your ticket for the DCF Conference?
Don’t miss out, tickets are selling fast for this year’s conference on Thursday 24th October 2024 at the Weymouth Pavilion. We are delighted with the full agenda of inspiring speakers and workshop on communicating difficult conversations with coastal communities. Click on button below for the agenda, further conference details and ticket bookings.
New Education Hub!
We’re really excited to share with you our new Education Hub webpage on the DCF website. The Education Hub is our new go-to resource for coastal information and learning materials. It is designed to provide students and teachers at schools, colleges, and universities with access to a wealth of educational resources related to the Dorset coast. Please take a look and share with your education teams and contacts.
The new DCF wave tank’s first outing was a huge success
BCP Council used the tank at the Bournemouth Air Festival, engaging with over 1500 people! You can have a chance to have a play with the wave tank at the DCF Conference.
Early morning sea swimmers at East Beach West Bay
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DCF News
| Calling DCF members – Register now for the DCF Conference 2024! Join us on Thursday 24th October at the Ocean Room, Weymouth Pavilion the for a day of insightful speakers, networking, and collaboration. This year we explore the theme of Dorset’s changing coast and its impacts on our communities, economies, and the environment. In addition to the full day’s agenda of inspirational presentations and an engaging workshop, there will be information stands from our sponsors and partners. Information stands will showcase innovative engagement tools designed to engage coastal communities, research and technologies. |
| Book your ticket |
Dan testing our new wave tank, built by and big thanks to Weymouth Men’s Shed.
Next step – build the model flood defence structures! Watch this space ………
| Future Studland Plan – survey now live! |
| After speaking to residents at our engagement events in early July, the Future Studland survey is now available for everyone to join the conservation! Whether you are a local resident, a visitor or someone who holds Studland close to your heart, this is an opportunity to shape the future of this beloved area. The insights gathered will shape the stewardship of Studland’s natural beauty and accessibility as part of a 20-50 year plan. Go to the project website to take part in the survey! |
| Visit project website |
| Studland Bay Marine Partnership The partnership are extremely encouraged that the boating season has started with a significant use of the eco-moorings available. Thank you to all boaters who are supporting marine conservation at Studland by adhering to the Voluntary No Anchor Zone. A range of permanent signage will be installed this month at local marinas and public boat launch sites to spread the word on how to enjoy Studland and protect the seagrass in Dorset’s largest seagrass meadow. Just a reminder to all that to enable the partnership to maintain and redeploy the eco-moorings each year, we ask boaters to pay to moor. Find out more at Pay to Moor and Donate to project. See also the project website for a list of events coming up over the next few months! |
| Visit project website |
| Swanage Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme (CTAP) |
| Following recent in person and online CTAP community events, led by Sara Parker in DCF and supported by Ross Fitzgerald Associate Director of Geomorphology at Jacobs, the project team are now working on short listing options for the Outline Business Case (OBC) informed by community feedback. We currently have a live survey asking people to rate the options. For more information and to sign up for updates, see our project page. |
| Visit project website |
Charmouth Coastal Transition Accelerator Programme (CTAP) |
| As part of engagement a survey (closed 31st July) asked the Charmouth community for their views on shortlisted options for the Outline Business Case (OBC) which will outline a plan on how the CTAP project in Charmouth will be delivered. These options have been developed from community and stakeholder input provided at recent engagement events. See project page for more information or to sign up for updates. |
| Visit project website |
| Swanage Town Coastal Protection Scheme |
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| Left: Sara with Flooding Swanage with art artists, Andy Knill and Tom Phillips |
| We are delighted to announce that our community art project Flooding Swanage with Art come second with a Highly Commended in the community category of the EA’s Excellence Awards – Flood & Coast2024 ! Thank you to everyone who participated and well-done to Sara, the amazing artists and the Swanage community! You can view our submission on our DCF YouTube channel or here. Concept design proposals were shared at the recent Swanage Town Council Coastal Change & Beach Management Advisory Committee explaining scheme options and a potential final Preferred Option. Sara will be updating the project page with the latest developments and opportunities to engage with the Project Team. In July, the Environment Agency met with key stakeholders in the Lower High Street area to discuss proposals to change the configuration of the temporary wave barriers. For updates see our project page. |
| Visit project website |
We recently attended the first ever ‘Love Your Weymouth’ festival, hosted by Weymouth Town Council as an opportunity to speak to local residents and visitors about how they can increase their resilience to flooding, along with the work being done to reduce the risk in the future. We had a great time having open discussions about peoples’ flood risk, what they can do, and how they can feel empowered to adapt to the impacts of climate change. This was a great chance to update people on the work that Dorset Council and WSP are doing to develop the Outline Business Case. We can’t wait to attend again next year!
30th January 2024
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.
Tony Flux, DCF Chairperson