Living Seas Wales

Living Seas Wales is a joint marine conservation project bringing together the North Wales Wildlife Trust and the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales. As well as working with volunteers, members of the public, schools and local community groups on the shores around Wales we are collecting marine wildlife memories to build a better picture of the wildlife experienced by the people of Wales in the past.

What are we doing?

Our knowledge of our seas comes in part from decades of research by many organisations, but this is only a limited view of our marine wildlife. So much more information can be gleaned from people who spent time in the marine environment, if only people realised the importance of their own or their family’s stories. Historical marine ecology is a scientific field where photographs, archives, news etc. are used to better understand the historic changes our seas have faced over time and this can establish a baseline against which conservation efforts can be measured. In Wales, we know of many regular wildlife sightings and fisheries which have changed (some examples being whaling, basking sharks, oysters, salmon, etc), but we would like to know more from your personal/family accounts. So we’re asking for your help.

Sea Stories

We’re looking for memories of our seas from your childhood, stories you heard from your parents or grandparents, family friends or even more recent experiences that stand out in your mind. These can take the form of written or voice recordings of stories, uploads of photographs, and/or pictures of memorabilia, or other coastal items. As well as being valuable for marine conservation the information will also become a collection for everyone to view online.

TELL US YOUR SEA STORY

We would love to hear from you and are especially interested and excited to hear stories relating to the following:

 Stories/photos relating to marine/coastal wildlife stemming from work, holidays, life at the coast

 Fishing catch records

 Records of wildlife sightings (one off or timings when see each year)

Regular coastal wildlife occurrences

Pictures/memories of the coast before development

 Memories/pics of what you used to find washed up on the shore or in living in rock pools

Memories/pics of what you used to find washed up on the shore or in living in rock pools

 Memories of the numbers and types of breeding/roosting birds in an area

Memories of incidents relating to the sea (pollution/storms/spillages etc) and its effects on wildlife

How has fishing changed in the area/have behaviours and/or practices changed?