Coastal Catch Ups

25/12/2024

I just want to say I hope you have a peaceful Christmas with your loved ones.

Many thanks for your support this year and I hope to continue our ocean education journey into 2025 with courses, tours and content!!

Lots of love,

SP

18/12/2024

Typically you might see changes at your local beach throughout the year.

Particularly between summer and winter.

Winter storms have the ability to take sand away from the beach, leaving cobbled rocks like the photo.

But during the summer the beach will be built back up by ‘constructive’ waves and introduce sand again.

Good timing for the beach goers eh?

16/12/2024

Even if you’re against salmon farming, it is likely to be present into the future and play an important role in food security.

So we need to think solutions and consider the environment moving forward.

13/12/2024

As sea levels rise and storm surges become more significant, landowners/governem will probably look to install flood defences 🌊

Land is expensive after all 💰

Hard structures alter natural processes and can remove habitats altogether, this is known as coastal squeeze 🔧

This is when coastal habitats cannot migrate inland as the water rises, resulting in an eventual loss of habitat 🛑

There are alternatives to hard structures such as using natural habitats as a form of flood defence, which don’t rely on manmade structures 🍃

This should be investigated at any opportunity to see if it’s feasible but requires money to acquire land/assets and space 🚧

Had you heard of coastal squeeze before?

You can learn all about this and more in the free 30 day course, comment ‘Coastal’ below to receive yours! 👇🏼👇🏼👇🏼

11/12/2024

Bivalves (clams, oysters, mussels) are a type of mollusc that have two hinged shells that enclose their bodies.

Bivalves are filter feeders, using their gills to filter plankton and other small particles from the water.

The name “mollusc” comes from the Latin word mollis, meaning soft.

Molluscs typically have a soft, unsegmented body.

Most species are protected by a hard shell made of calcium carbonate, but not all molluscs have shells.

08/12/2024

Often out of sight, seagrass punches above its weight in providing ecological value.

Seagrass helps with climate change by trapping organic carbon in the sediment beneath it, which can extend several meters deep.

03/10/2024

A huge thanks to .ie , an Artist based between London and Dublin who kindly provided an insight into her amazing work combining the marine world, data and art 🎨

I found out about Kerrie’s work bringing the environmental challenges of our coasts and oceans to life on the most recent newsletter.

As someone who looks at spreadsheets often, it was lovely to read about another side of the data.

Keep up the great work Kerrie 👏🏼

Full story on Coastal Catch Ups blog 👌🏻

30/09/2024

Don’t we all have random thoughts time to time? 💭

Such as, if I live to be 100 years old, I wonder what the coastline will look like here? 🧐

Will that house be underwater?

Will that road still be accessible?

Will that saltmarsh still be there?

Am I the only one?

Maybe 🤣

29/09/2024

A prey conveyor belt would be super handy if you’re a predator right? 🍴

Well that’s what a study found that assessed foraging behavior around man made structures 🔨

Interactions between flowing water and a tidal turbine created complex 3D flows that increased accessibility to prey 💦

The study compared the feeding patterns of terns (a migratory bird) in the wake created by natural features and man made structures in Strangford Lough 🐟

Creating these feeding hotspots should be a consideration when installing and also removing these structures 🍽️

This is an important consideration during the current period of Marine Urbanisation (a new term I picked up from the study!) 📚

15/08/2024

Each Friday I send out a Newsletter that helps you with the following:

👉🏻 Making Marine Science easy to understand and learn 🌊

👉🏻 Helping coastal groups and organisations reduce their environmental impact 🍃

👉🏻 Helping future environmental scientists navigate their career 👌🏻

If any of that sounds useful to you, you can subscribe at:

www.coastalcatchups.com/newsletter

27/03/2024

When I say rowing, what do you think of?

I had the pleasure of chatting with members of Killyleagh Coastal Rowing Club the other week.

When we chat about connecting people to our coasts, it’s often about education and awareness.

But getting people out on the water to experience it is also an important step.

Coastal rowing has it all from physical exercise, mental resilience, exploration, craic (a term for fun for those not familiar with Irish slang), competition, and community.

The one thing I love most is that it brings everyone together in the community at all ages.

The boats are also beautiful - I’m a sucker for a clinker-built boat 😂

I joined the crew as they worked on one of the beautiful St Ayles Skiffs (the type of rowing boat) in the club shed (also known as David’s shed).

Check out the full chat on the Coastal Catch Ups podcast 🎙️

11/03/2024

New Coastal Catch Ups episode is live!

In Episode 17 I catch up with Heidi who shares her knowledge on seagrass. Some of the questions we cover include:

What is seagrass?
What are the threats to seagrass?
Why is seagrass important?
What can be done to protect seagrass?
What is the difference between passive and active restoration?
How can seagrass store carbon?

You can also hear about the work of the Irish Ocean Literacy Network and the Shifting Tides project in Carlingford Lough.

Thanks so much for giving up your time Heidi and best of luck with your research!

Episode available on the usual channels (link in bio of Coastal Catch Ups ) 🙏🏼

24/02/2024

08/02/2024

"Participants show transformation in their lives, shifting from isolation to engagement with others through a combination of surfing, volunteering and mentoring. Clients and their families describe great benefit from this shift and their stories about themselves and their real lived experiences become markedly different." - Devine-Wright and Godfrey (2021)

Listen to the episode on the Wave Project Northern Ireland below 👇

Catch you soon,

SP

20/12/2023

Hey 👋🏻

If you’re new here, thanks so much for joining 🙏🏼

I am on a mission to spread stories of sustainability along our coasts, creating more awareness and educating people about the challenges and opportunities. 🌊

You can check out all the podcasts on the website, and some light reading as well. 📖

There is also a Coastal Meet Up Group based in Northern Ireland, we meet for a get together once a month for a walk and chat. 🚶‍♂️

You will find links to everything in the bio 👍🏼

Enjoy 😉

Sam P x

15/12/2023

Hello everyone, I have an announcement 📢

On Wednesday 27th December a bunch of us will be meeting at Delamont Country Park for a Coastal Meet Up at 10am.

It is just a social gathering with a walk followed by a coffee.

Binos, walking sticks, hangovers, prams, dogs, are all welcome.

It will be a great way to meet new people and stretch your legs.

If you want to keep up to date on Coastal Meet Ups you can join the WhatsApp Group at this link:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/C7MyllLJ9k3Do8w1DIr53M

I will be this happy to see you there 👇😂