Brightly coloured anemones, sea slugs and spider crabs filled every space at Ryde Library and East Cowes Parkside Pavilion this week as the run-up to this year’s Under the Pier extravaganza began.
In total, around 70 children from Oakfield and Ryde to Norfolk and Essex have joined artist Ian Whitmore, Arc and Vectis Housing’s Wild about Wight team, painting beautiful sea creature-themed bunting to help decorate Ryde Pier again this year for the big day itself.
Ian Boyd at Arc explains:
“The inspiration for the decorations comes from the fascinating marine wildlife that has colonised the vertical pier struts under our historic Ryde Pier, from sea squirts and slugs to masked crabs and at the very end, only visible at extreme low tides, the famed sponge gardens.
“The Under the Pier event, created and run by Arc Consulting, mixes ecology, art and heritage to bring the pier to life in a new and wilder way. This is no ordinary rockpooling day….instead, we head out on a sandpooling safari for curious sea creatures, get a chance to try Artecology sandcasting and we’ll also be helping to record species, creating a citizen science snapshot of the Pier’s busy marine life”.
Under the Pier is becoming a simple but special part of the Island’s nature calendar – and this year’s event is an extra-special as it’s also an end of summer celebration with Vectis Housing’s Wild About Wight project as part of the Down to the Coast programme. In addition, thanks to a grant from Ryde Town Council, Under the Pier will soon have its own microsite featuring photography by photographer Julian Winslow.
In the meantime, everyone’s welcome to join in at the next Under the Pier bunting decoration day. As well as giving us a sneak preview of the marine life you can hope to encounter on the day, you’ll be bringing a splash of sea creature colour to Ryde Pier. Ryde Library will be hosting another free Wild about Wight workshop with Ian Whitmore on Tuesday 23rd August from 11:00-13:00.
Under the Pier 2016 takes place on Friday 2nd September from 16:30 to 18:30 on the Western beach of Ryde Pier – meet at the entrance to the beach on the green at the bottom of Union Street and St Thomas Street.
For more information, visit www.arc-consulting.co.uk/upcomingevents or contact [email protected].
